Holiday Hoax
by SakuraJade
Summary: AU S&S Tired of disappointing her parents Sakura wants to bring them the one thing they really want for Xmas: to meet her boyfriend. She doesn't have one but an interesting event leads to Syaoran going with her to pose as her bf just for Xmas. More inside
1. A Crappy Start to Christmas

**A/N: **I got this idea for a Christmas CCS fic from an ABC Family Original movie that came out this year. It was called Holiday in Handcuffs. It was cute and so it inspired me to write this. I guess it's loosely based on the movie and I mean loosely. It's pretty much completely different lol

Disclaimer: "I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura CLAMP does. Nor do I own Holiday in Handcuffs, ABC Family owns the rights to that."

_**Plot:**_ Tired of disappointing her parents Sakura wants to bring them the one thing they really want for X-mas: to meet her boyfriend. Of course not having a boyfriend at the moment kind of puts a damper on the plan . . . However an interesting event leads to Syaoran going with her to pose as her boyfriend, just for Christmas. Syaoran is not into Christmas, but after getting the family Christmas he never had he starts to see things in a different light, including Sakura. The affluent, busy business man was never really Sakura's type but after spending Christmas with Syaoran she starts to have a change of heart.

" means spoken words

_Italics_ means thoughts

() means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 1: A Crappy Start to Christmas_

A handsome young man with chocolate brown hair turned around as he pocketed his slim, sliver cell phone. His sharp amber eyes widened in surprise when he saw a girl with crazy, frizzed-out honey auburn hair and bright green eyes in a charcoal colored pea coat and black knee boots standing a few feet away from him in the dimly lit hallway. She was nervously clutching a small black purse with gold and silver hearts all over it. He took a step back defensively almost tripping over the forest green duffle bag on the floor by his feet.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "How much did you just hear?"

"Uh, I . . . um . . ." Sakura stammered.

"Well?" he ordered, his voice echoing in the desolate hallway.

"All of it?" she squeaked.

He growled slightly, but more so at his own stupidity than at her. He shouldn't have been so careless as to hold a conversation like that in one of the university buildings where anyone could happen upon him like this strange looking girl just did. He pulled out a check book and pen.

Clicking the pen open he asked, "Alright how much will it cost to keep what you heard between the two of us?"

Sakura blinked, "Huh?"

"Go ahead, name your price," he said, ready to write her a check on the spot.

Unfortunately no amount of cash could buy her what she really wanted . . . Then a thought hit her. Cash couldn't get her what she wanted, but this guy could, well he could help a little anyway. He was good looking, rich, and obviously successful since he was on the board of directors for the Li Corporation and he wasn't even finished with college! He'd do perfectly for now.

Finally she said, "I don't want your money."

He looked up at her with puzzled eyes. Who in their right mind didn't want money?

"You don't?"

She shook her frizzed out head.

"Well then what?" he asked.

She smiled nervously. "I want you to come with me."

"Uh, where?" he asked confused.

"To spend Christmas with my family."

_Okay I'm not usually this spontaneous or crazy I swear! Believe me I wouldn't normally ask some random guy that I've never met to spend the holidays with me and my family but I'm desperate! If you knew what kind of day I'd had up to this point you might understand . . ._

_**8 hours earlier . . .**_

A pink cell phone sitting on the edge of a dark wooden nightstand continued to ring, begging to be answered. Finally, a girl emerged from the bathroom, her light honey-brown hair wrapped in curlers underneath a hairnet.

"I'm coming already, gosh," she grumbled.

Reaching the cell phone she yanked it off the nightstand and flipped it open in a flash.

"Hello?"

"Sakura dear? Is that you?" a lithe voice came from the other end.

"Yes mom, who else would it be?" she asked her tone slightly sarcastic. She was not having a good morning and she really didn't have time for this.

She had planned on getting up earlier than usual so she could finish packing for winter break, review one more time for her last final, and perm her hair before going to work. However she had woken up late as usual. Now she only had an hour until work forcing her to rush through her hair job and quickly toss her junk into a suitcase. She'd have to study for her final on her break.

"I don't know it could have been your roommate, she answers your phone sometimes when you're busy," her mother, Nadeshiko, replied innocently.

"Chiharu's already at work mom and I have to get moving or I'm going to be late to work myself."

"Okay, well I was just calling to let you know we made it to the cabin safely. Oh it's just gorgeous I can't wait until you get here! Now you do have the directions right?"

Sakura sighed. This was the third time her mother had asked her that in four days!

"Yes, I printed them off from the e-mail you sent me days ago."

"Well I just wanted to make sure. I don't want you getting lost. It's quite a drive, nothing around for miles," Nadashiko frowned.

"I'll be fine," Sakura reassured her.

"Now what time will you be leaving school?"

"My last final is at two o'clock. I'm already packed so as soon as I'm done taking the test I'm heading out," she answered as she tossed a few more things into her suitcase trying to multitask.

"Excellent! I know you're always running late but drinks are at six o'clock sharp so please try to be here on time Sakura," her mother said sternly.

"Okay, but I really have to go-"

"Is that Sakura?" she heard her father's voice in the phone.

"Yes it is dear," she heard her mother reply.

"Tell her I said hello and that I love her and miss her. Oh and that I can't wait to see her!" she heard his overly excited voice again.

"Sweetheart your dad says-"

"I know mom I heard him!" Sakura yelled in frustration cutting her mother off, "Tell him I love him too. . ."

"She loves you too dear!" Nadeshiko shouted over to her husband who was still bringing their bags into the log cabin.

"Oh, so you know," her mother continued despite Sakura's silent pleas to end the conversation, "Your brother will be bringing his girlfriend to spend Christmas with us. I'm so excited to meet her! They've been dating for quite some time now so it's probably pretty serious . . ."

"I know mom. Thanks for the heads up but I really have to go now," Sakura tried again.

"Oh alright dear. I just wish you would bring home that boy you've been seeing. What's his name? Something with an "S" I think . . . I mean you and him aren't as serious as Toya and his girlfriend but still-"

"Yeah okay mom I get it jeeze seriously though I really have to go, I have work," Sakura insisted.

"Alright, alright. Oh real quick!" her mom pleaded.

"What?!" Sakura snapped.

"Please wear that dress your Grandfather bought you."

Sakura blanched, "But mom that dress is awful! It's so frilly and old fashioned! It's so bad it almost makes me hate pink and that's my favorite color! That's how bad that dress is!" she whined.

"I know but he loves how you look in it and you know how depressed he's been since he lost your Grandmother. He won't be around forever either . . ." her mother trailed off trying to lay on the guilt, "Plus Sonomi is making Tomoyo wear hers so you won't be the only one."

"Fine," Sakura sighed. Tomoyo would be in far more pain than her being a fashion design major at her university.

"Thank you honey. Speaking of Tomoyo, she's also bringing her boyfriend to the cabin for Christmas," Nadeshiko added, again hinting at how she wanted to meet her own daughter's boyfriend.

Sakura groaned. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound. She'd be the only one there without a significant other and it wasn't even because she didn't want to bring her boyfriend, it was because she didn't have one to bring at this point. The fact that her parents were dying to see her in a serious relationship at her age just made it worse.

"Oh and one more thing, please do something with your hair it looks so frumpy and stringy just hanging there-"

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, her hair!! "Oh my gosh I have to go!" she cried slapping the hand phone shut and screaming as she ran back to the bathroom.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura rushed into the Sunshine Café and grabbed an apron hoping her boss wouldn't notice that she was fifteen minutes late. The café was right next to campus making it a very popular hang out for the college students, especially since it was open 24/7. A girl with brown, braided pig tails and friendly hazel eyes wearing reindeer antlers and a red apron walked up to Sakura.

"You're late," the girl pointed out.

"I know," Sakura whined, "I'm sorry!"

The girl waved her off, "Don't worry about it, I covered your tables for you. Tsujiai didn't even notice you were missing."

Sakura sighed in relief.

"Thanks Chiharu."

Chiharu smiled warmly.

"No problem," she replied, then she crinkled her nose, "but what happened to your hair?"

Sakura self consciously touched the semi-curled, fizzy auburn mess atop her head. As soon as she hung up with her mother she jumped in the shower to wash the perm solution out but it was too late, it had already been in way too long and her hair was ruined.

"I was trying to perm it but my mom called and I left the solution in too long," Sakura finished with a disheartened sigh.

"Who perms their hair nowadays?" Chiharu asked with a distasteful look on her face.

"I don't know, my mom always complains that my hair is so limp and dull just hanging from my head so I thought if I put a perm in it she'd stop complaining about it," Sakura answered truthfully.

She took off her coat and Chiharu slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Oh man, what are you wearing?!"

Sakura had on a light pink frilly dress that billowed around her knees and had more lace than a baby doll's dress. It was rather unflattering on her figure the way it hung from her body making her curves non-existent. It was quite the fashion statement. At least the black, knee high, laced up boots that she wore on her feet were from this century.

"You look like you just stepped out of the eighteen hundreds in Europe!" Chiharu laughed unable to hold it at bay anymore.

Sakura glared at her, "Knock it off will you? I'm only wearing this dress because my Grandpa gave it to me a few years ago and he loves to see me in it."

"Well why didn't you wait to put it on until you were ready to leave for break?"

"Because I won't have time to go back to our apartment even though it's on campus. All my stuff is already in the car so I can take off right after I finish my final," she replied.

Sakura slipped her red apron on then noticed the antlers on the crown of her friends head.

"What's with the reindeer antlers?" she asked while tying the apron strings across her back.

Chiharu rolled her eyes, "Tsujiai suddenly decided to go with a Christmas theme for the café."

Sakura raised her eye brows, "But he's way into Buddhism."

Shrugging Chiharu said, "Hey don't ask me, I don't know what goes on in his mind."

She picked a red Santa hat off the counter and plopped it over Sakura's messed up hair.

"At least if you wear the Santa hat it will hide most of your hairdo," she said jokingly.

"More like hair-don't," Sakura groaned.

Just then Tsujiai, their boss, came out from the back room and frowned at them.

"Ladies I do not pay you to stand here and chat! Get to work," he ordered, "we have plenty of customers to keep you busy!"

Sakura and Chiharu grumbled under their breath as they headed to the floor to wait on the customers. As they were taking orders, a young man with amber eyes walked in and took a seat at a small table in Sakura's station. After she was done taking another persons order she walked over to take his.

"Welcome to the Sunshine Café. What can I get for you?" she asked, ready to jot it down.

He glanced over the menu before saying, "I'll just have a club sandwich and a Coke."

Sakura scribbled on her mini notepad.

"Okay I'll bring that to you as soon as it's ready," she said before walking towards the kitchen to put in the order.

As she walked away his cell phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket he sighed when he saw the name on the front.

He flipped it open then said, "Hello?"

"Syaoran, where are you?" a shrill voice asked from the other end.

"I'm at the Sunshine Café getting some food," he replied in a bored tone.

"Oh, when's your last final?"

"I told you Meilin, two o'clock," he said slightly exasperated.

"Okay I just got done with mine so I'm ready to head home for break whenever you're done," she said sweetly.

"As soon as my final is over we can go," he said dully.

"Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Uh . . . just meet me here at the café so we can grab some food before hitting the road."

"But you're eating there now," she pointed out.

"I know so? I like the food and I won't be able to eat here for three weeks," he said defensively.

"Okay fine."

"Come around three o'clock."

"Alright I'll see you then sweetheart!" she cooed making a kissing noise into the phone receiver.

Syaoran cringed, he hated when she acted like that even if she was his fiancée.

"Yeah bye," he said quickly before hanging up and wedging his phone back into his pocket.

Sakura was picking up some orders near the kitchen when Chiharu came by to get some as well.

"So, you excited about bring Satoshi home for Christmas?" she asked with a bright smile.

Sakura bit her lip slightly. "Uh yeah, about that . . ."

Chiharu blinked, "What? He is going with you isn't he?"

Sakura shook her head.

"Why what happened?" her roommate inquired, eyes wide with surprise.

"Well, last night we were on the phone after you already went to bed and I asked him about it again since he still hadn't given me an answer. He said that he thought things were moving too fast since we'd only been dating on and off for three months and that it might be best if we just took a break from each other for now and see how things are when we come back next semester . . ." she trailed off with a sigh.

Chiharu frowned and put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Oh Sakura I'm so sorry! What an ass," she grunted.

"No don't worry about it it's not a big deal," Sakura tried to reassure her friend, "I just really wanted to bring a guy home to my parents this year. I mean I know they are dying to see me in a serious relationship. I just wanted to make them happy."

"Awww you do hon," Chiharu said, giving Sakura's shoulder a squeeze.

"Well it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes . . ."

Attempting to take the subject off her pathetic love life, Sakura asked, "What about you? You and Takashi are spending Christmas together right?"

"Yeah, we do every year but it's pretty easy since we live in the same home town," Chiharu said with a laugh.

Sakura smiled.

"You two are so adorable. I can't believe you've been together since high school and went away to the same college just so you could stay together. That is so romantic," she sighed dreamily, "I wish I could have what you have."

"Don't worry you will, ya just gotta find the right guy that's all."

"I'm starting to think there is no right guy for me," Sakura grumbled.

Before either of them could say another word the orders they were waiting on came up and they took the food to their customers.

**xXxXxXx**

Sprinting down the slick hallway of one of the many university buildings Sakura almost slid past her classroom due to the wet trails of melted snow others had tracked in before her. She rushed into the classroom just as the professor was handing out the last of the finals. She sighed in relief that she had made it on time. The professor handed her a test and she took a seat in the back, blushing at the barely audible snickers coming from the other students. She knew they had to be laughing at her frightful hair. Oh well, there wasn't a thing she could do about it now and besides she probably wouldn't see half the people in this room again anyway since the campus had so many students. She shoved her purse under her chair but left her coat on not wanting to earn an extra round of giggles. Even if she wasn't going to see these people again she didn't feel like giving them another thing to laugh at right now.

"Alright class, you may begin your test. When you are done, quietly gather your things and leave your test on my desk. Good luck and enjoy your break," the professor announced before taking a seat at the head desk to proctor the exam.

_**One hour later . . .**_

Sakura walked out of the building happy to finally be done for the semester. She was pretty sure all her grades would be good, although not as good as her brother Toya's always were . . . If she got As and Bs he got straight As. She was always second place. She stepped outside of the building and headed towards her car. Half way there she let out a gasp as she realized she had forgotten her purse in the classroom. Flinging the doors open she rushed back into the building praying her purse was still there. To her relief it was right where she had left it. She didn't know what she would have done if it had been gone. She wouldn't even be able to get into her car since her keys were in it. Snatching it off the ground she head out of the empty classroom again. As she neared the corner of the hallway she heard a male voice.

"But that's falsifying a legal document . . . severe legal action could be taken on the whole company if any one finds out! The press would have a field day . . ."

The conversation sounded pretty serious. She turned the corner and saw a handsome young man with chocolate brown hair standing in the deserted hallway, his back to her. Not realizing he was no longer alone he continued with the conversation.

"As a member of the board of directors for the Li Corporation I have a right to disagree with that decision!" he shouted clearly frustrated, "Yes I know we would lose money but it's the right thing to do . . . I know . . . but . . . no . . . but we knew the statistics were poor! Previous records showed a low rate of deployment in the event of . . . I still don't think . . ." he sighed, "Yes sir," he said seemingly giving up on the argument.

He pulled his slim, sliver cell phone away from his ear and snapped it shut turning around as he pocketed it. His sharp amber eyes widened in surprise when he saw a girl with crazy, frizzed-out honey auburn hair and bright green eyes in a charcoal colored pea coat and black knee boots standing a few feet away from him in the dimly lit hallway. She was nervously clutching a small black purse with gold and silver hearts all over it. He took a step back defensively almost tripping over the forest green duffle bag on the floor by his feet. Sakura subconsciously realized that the man in front of her was one of the customers she had waited on at The Sunshine Café earlier.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "How much did you just hear?"

"Uh, I . . . um . . ." Sakura stammered.

"Well?" he ordered, his voice echoing in the desolate hallway.

"All of it?" she squeaked.

He growled slightly, but more so at his own stupidity than at her. Even though two o'clock had been the last round of finals that didn't mean all the buildings were deserted. He shouldn't have been so careless as to hold a conversation like that in one of the university buildings where any one could happen upon him like this weird looking girl just did. He pulled out a check book and pen.

Clicking the pen open he asked, "Alright how much will it cost to keep what you heard between the two of us?"

Sakura blinked, "Huh?"

"Go ahead, name your price," he said, ready to write her a check on the spot.

Obviously he was trying to buy her off. Unfortunately no amount of cash could buy her what she really wanted . . . Then a thought struck her like a bolt of lightening. Cash couldn't get her what she wanted, but this guy could, well he could help a little anyway. He was good looking, rich, and obviously successful since he was on the board of directors for the Li Corporation and he wasn't even finished with college! He'd do perfectly for now.

Finally she said, "I don't want your money."

He looked up at her with puzzled eyes. Who in their right mind didn't want money?

"You don't?"

She shook her frizzed-out head.

"Well then what?" he asked.

She smiled nervously. "I want you to come with me."

"Uh, where?" he asked confused.

"To spend Christmas with my family."

Syaoran gawked at her not sure what to think. Finally he managed to say, "You can't be serious."

"No I am," she said with a shake of her head, her frizzy hair bouncing around slightly.

"Look I really don't have time for this so just tell me an amount and I'll-"

"No!" she shouted in an aggravated tone, "Money can't get me what I really want right now. What I want is to bring an impressive boyfriend home to my parents for Christmas."

Syaoran sweat dropped slightly, her hair didn't seem to be the only thing that was crazy . . .

"But I'm not your boyfriend," he said stating the obvious. "I don't even know you."

"So what? My parents don't need to know that. All they need to think is that I'm in a happy, semi-serious relationship for once. That will make their Christmas and help me be less of a disappointment to them."

Syaoran looked at her skeptically, so she continued, "It's this thing with my parents. Look it will only be for a few days. Today's the 20th and it will just be until the 25th. That's five full days, not even a week! And it won't cost you a thing."

"I'd rather give up the money . . ." Syaoran grumbled, rubbing his temples, "I'm sorry but-"

"Or," Sakura started, cutting him off, "if you'd rather I could march straight to the press starting with our very own school newspaper and tell them how I over heard from one of the members of the board of directors that the Li Corporation is involved in some sort of illegal scandal . . ."

It was blackmail plain and simple, she knew it. Normally Sakura would never think of blackmailing someone, it wasn't the kind of person she was. But under the circumstances she went with it despite the fact that it made her feel bad. Syaoran stared her straight in the eyes trying to call her bluff. She looked pretty determined to him. Finally she shrugged her shoulders and started for the doors.

"Fine, suit yourself, I guess I'm stopping by the journalism building before I head out," she said as she drifted past him.

"Wait!" he finally yelled when she reached the doors.

She turned to look at him expectantly.

He groaned as he said, "If I go with you for Christmas and pretend to be your boyfriend for your family, after Christmas we go our separate ways and you never breathe a word of what you heard to anyone, ever?"

Sakura made a face as if she was actually thinking his words over before she looked at him and said, "Yeah, that's it. It's as simple as that."

Letting out a deep breath Syaoran bent over and hoisted his enormous duffle bag onto his shoulder.

"So . . . does that mean we have a deal?" Sakura asked anxiously.

"Well, since you didn't leave me with any other choice, yes," he said grudgingly.

Sakura's face broke out into a bright smile, the first genuine smile she'd had all day.

"Oh thank you!" she cried even though she knew he was only doing it to save his own backside. "Do you need to get anything from your place?"

Syaoran jerked a thumb at the big bag on his back.

"No," he said flatly.

"Well okay then, let's hit the road! My car is in the parking garage across the street, come on."

She went to push on the door handle but stopped and glanced at him again.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Li Syaoran," he stated simply.

"Okay well, I'm Kinomoto Sakura, it's nice to meet you," she said with a warm, friendly smile before pushing on the door and heading out onto the snow covered pavement.

_Meilin's going to be so pissed, _he thought before following after his new "girlfriend."

_**End chapter 1.**_

**A/N: **Well, that's chapter one. It's going to be a relatively short multi-chapter story, maybe only like 4 chapters, maybe 6, not sure yet. We'll see what I come up with as I write it lol I'm trying really hard to finish this before Christmas Day since it's a Christmas story so that's the plan as of now and it shouldn't be a problem unless something unexpected comes up. For the most part if you read this story you won't really know much of what happens in the ABC Family movie Holiday in Handcuffs since I changed so much of it but since it is what inspired this idea I'm giving credit to it anyway. Well, I hope you liked chapter one, please review and let me know what you thought! Trust me it will definitely push me to get the chapters done faster:) See you in chapter 2 I hope!

_SakuraJade_


	2. Meeting the Family

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews so far, they were really good and encouraging :) I'm glad you guys are interested in this story so far. Oh, for the record, the legal age to enter a bar or club with alcohol in Japan is 20, at least that's what I found on the internet. That will make sense as you read this chapter. I just wanted to clear that up because the drinking age is different around the world and this story takes place in Japan.

Disclaimer: "CLAMP owns Cardcaptor Sakura and ABC Family owns Holiday in Handcuffs."

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

() means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 2: Meeting the Family_

The door to the Sunshine Café opened and a young woman with long, shinny, ebony colored hair held up in bonbon style pigtails and eyes the shade of garnet walked in. She glanced around looking for someone. She checked her watch and a frown appeared creasing her delicate features. It was a little after three o'clock yet the person she was supposed to be meeting was no where in sight. Syaoran had always been very punctual . . . She spotted a waitress with brown braided pigtails wearing reindeer antlers pouring a customer more coffee.

"You there," she called out.

Chiharu looked up from what she was doing and saw the ebony haired girl.

"Yes you Prancer, come over here," she said snidely, poking fun of the antlers the waitress was wearing.

Chiharu raised her eye brows as she walked towards the girl.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

Meilin ignored the dirty look the waitress was giving her and continued, "I was supposed to meet my fiancé here at three o'clock and I don't see him. He's tall, well built, brown hair, hazel eyes, you know, extremely gorgeous in every way," she gave Chiharu a once over, "then again maybe you don't," she said curtly, implying that she'd never get a hot boyfriend.

Chiharu's glare intensified. She was working a double before heading home for the holidays and she was in no mood for this girl's snobby attitude.

Meilin flicked one of her long glossy locks back over her shoulder before saying, "Anyway have you seen him in here this afternoon?"

With her hands on her hips Chiharu replied, "You know I can't say that I have but maybe this is his way of dumping you," with a fake smile she added, "I know I would."

Meilin gawked at the waitress. Before she could retaliate Chiharu walked away to pick up some more orders. Meilin stomped her foot on the floor in anger before she stormed out of the café in search of her missing fiancé.

**xXxXxXx**

A blue Honda Civic sedan cruised down an empty, snow covered street that was steadily growing darker with the setting sun. The only sound in the car was the Christmas carols playing from the radio. Sakura and Syaoran had been traveling for over an hour and had yet to hold a conversation. Neither really knew what to say so they just remained silent. Syaoran pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check for missed calls. It was well over three o'clock and he was surprised he hadn't received a call from Meilin since he never showed at The Sunshine Café as they had planned. Taking a closer look at his phone he saw the problem. No wonder she hadn't called yet, not only did the phone have no reception bars but the battery was low too, most likely from the last conversation he had when Sakura came across him. He shoved the hand phone back into his pant pocket. He'd have to try to call Meilin and explain what happened later. Not being able to make a phone call he contented himself with staring out the window at all the nothingness they passed while Sakura drove trying to figure out how to get to their destination. She still couldn't believe she dragged some total stranger with her. It seemed logical at the time but anything would've seemed logical since she was so desperate not to show up stag again this year. Sakura peered out the frosty window to see if she could see anything that might help reveal their location but all she could see were mounds and mounds of snow blowing effortlessly across the empty fields.

_Mom wasn't kidding this place really is in the middle of no where . . . _she thought.

Pulling out her directions for the umpteenth time she started to check them over when she suddenly heard Syaoran yell in the seat next to her.

"Hey watch out!" he shouted.

She looked up to see a deer standing right in the middle of the road. She screamed and hit the brakes, but the car continued to move forward, sliding on the snow. Panicking she hit the brakes over and over again but it didn't make a difference; the car had no traction to stop. As a last resort Syaoran reached over and yanked the steering wheel to the right causing the car to spin in a circle and off the road slightly. The jerk from the car was so hard Sakura's head banged the window as a result. The car came to a complete stop off to the side of the road and the deer walked off unfazed by the event. Holding her head Sakura immediately got out of the car worried about the deer. She saw it walking back into the forest near the street and sighed in relief. Syaoran got out of the car as well and Sakura looked at him over the roof, a light smile on her face.

"The deer is okay, thank goodness."

"Who cares about the stupid deer? We could have been hurt!" he spat angrily.

Sakura's smile slipped a bit. She cared, she loved animals. She would have been crushed if she had hit that deer. She'd never hit anything before.

"And now the car might be stuck in the snow and we're in the middle of no where!" he gripped.

Sakura sighed. She could tell pretending to be in love with this guy for the next few days wasn't going to be easy.

"Look let's just get back in the car and try to get moving again. Drinks are at six o'clock sharp and I don't want to get an earful from my mom for being late," Sakura stated.

Once back in the car she put it in drive and hit the gas. It moved but not enough to get back on the road.

"Great now what do we do?" she asked disheartened.

Growling slightly Syaoran pulled a pair of gloves out of his coat pocket and put them on then he stepped out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Sakura inquired.

"I'm going to push the car from behind while you give it gas," he said flatly.

"Are you sure-"

"Just do it," he ordered.

Once he was in position he gave her a signal to give it gas. Little by little with Syaoran's help from behind, the car made it back onto the road. Once he got back in the passengers seat Sakura couldn't help but praise him.

"Wow I can't believe you were able to get the car out by yourself! You must be pretty strong," she said genuinely.

He blushed slightly at the praise.

"The car wasn't that stuck and it's a tiny compact car anyway," he said modestly.

"Still though . . ."

Once they were moving again they fell back into silence. Finally Sakura decided to break the ice a little.

"So . . ." she trailed off, not sure what to say.

He gave her a sidelong glance, one eye brow raised. "What?" he finally asked.

"I don't know, I just hate sitting here in silence," she admitted.

"So talk then," he stated simply.

"About what?"

"For starters you could tell me where we're going," he suggested since he really wasn't sure.

"Oh, my parents wanted to try something different for Christmas this year so they, my mom's cousin, and my Grandpa rented a cabin in the mountains. Something about needing more family togetherness for the holidays since all of us kids have been away at college and stuff."

"I see," was all he had to say.

"There will be ten of us including you."

Syaoran didn't respond so she continued," You know, since my parents are going to think we're dating we should probably find out a little more about each other so our relationship is believable."

"Fine, what do you want to know?" he asked in a dull tone.

"Well, what's your major?"

"Business," he answered simply.

_Well that makes sense,_ she thought, _after all he already has a prestigious position at a world renowned company._

"What's yours?"

"Social work," she replied.

He made a face involuntarily and she noticed.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you won't make good money in that field," he stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura frowned slightly, "I'm not majoring in that field because I want to make money, I'm doing it because I want to help underprivileged families. Not everything's about money."

Syaoran snorted but didn't say anything. He used to feel that way too, but after being a part of a big company that repeatedly taught him otherwise that idea became vaguer to him. Sakura picked up the directions again hoping they were getting close. It was almost six o'clock. Before she could look at them Syaoran snatched them away.

"I don't feel like almost hitting another deer," he grumbled, "you drive, I'll look at the directions."

Sakura gave up on making conversation for the time being and focused on getting to the cabin on time.

**xXxXxXx**

"Finally we're here," Sakura stated as they pulled up to a big, snow covered log cabin.

She looked at the car clock. It was 6:15, she was late. It figured. She got out of the car and hurried up the walkway, Syaoran following behind at a slight distance. She opened the door and was immediately greeted by the whole family. Everyone else was already there. Before she could say anything her mother spoke.

"Sakura you're fifteen minutes late, I told you drinks were at six o'clock. Why are you so incapable of being on time for anything?" she asked incredulously, a glass of red wine resting in her hand.

Syaoran walked through the doorway and stopped next to her. Hoping to take the focus off her tardiness, Sakura quickly introduced him.

"Everyone I have a surprise. This is my boyfriend," she said with a smile as she linked her arm with his.

"Uh, hi," Syaoran said glancing around the room at all the surprised faces.

"Sorry for not telling you he was coming in advance, it was kind of last minute," she said truthfully for indeed it had been.

_You're not kidding,_ Syaoran thought to himself.

Everyone was quiet for a minute, too busy staring at the new guest. Then all at once everyone started talking about the couple. They sweat dropped at the family's reaction to the news. Finally Nadeshiko quieted everyone and approached Syaoran, a brilliant smile shinning on her face.

"Well this certainly is a surprise but a wonderful one! Oh I'm so happy to meet you . . ." she trailed off not knowing what his name was.

"Li Syaoran," he stated.

"I'm sorry, I knew it began with an 'S,' but it's been over a month since Sakura told me it and I just couldn't remember all of it," she said honestly.

Syaoran raised an eye brow suspiciously at Nadeshiko's words. He wondered how Sakura could have told her a month ago that she had a boyfriend whose name started with the letter 'S' when they hadn't meet until this morning.

Anyway welcome! Come in come in!" she said as she ushered them further into the cabin, breaking Syaoran's train of thought in the process.

To Sakura's relief, introducing Syaoran took the heat off of her for being late.

Nadeshiko continued, "I'm Sakura's mom, Nadeshiko, and that's her father Fujitaka, her older brother Toya and his girlfriend Akizuki Nakuru, her Great Gandfather Amamiya Masaki, my cousin Daidouji Sonomi, her daughter Daidouji Tomoyo and her boyfriend Hiiragizawa Eriol," she said as she pointed to each person.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Syaoran said nervously.

He was very uncomfortable, but they all looked normal enough at least, friendly as well much to his relief.

"No the pleasure is all ours really," Nadeshiko assured him. "Here let me get your coats."

Syaoran took his off while Sakura reluctantly handed hers over. His eyes widened in shock when he saw just what she was wearing. It was hideous, quite possibly the ugliest dress he'd ever seen.

"Why Sakura sweetheart, you're wearing the dress I gave you!" her Grandfather beamed walking towards her from the chair he had been sitting in.

"Of course Grandpa, I know how much you love to see me in it," she said through gritted teeth.

Syaoran heard a snicker and looked over to see Toya trying to hide the fact that he was laughing. His girlfriend was chiding him for making fun of his little sister. Syaoran would have laughed out loud but he actually found himself feeling sorry for her. Sonomi gave her daughter a push towards Sakura and Masaki. Syaoran noticed she still had her own coat on.

"Tomoyo dear take off your coat already," she ordered.

"Yes mother," Tomoyo grimaced

She slid her white, down feather coat off to reveal a dress identical to Sakura's only a pastel yellow instead of a pale pink. It looked just as unflattering on her as it did on Sakura. Her boyfriend chuckled but slapped a hand over his mouth when she shot him a glare.

Sakura's frown lessened, apparently happy to have someone to share the humiliation with.

_At least her hair is still beautiful though unlike mine, _she thought, bitterly thinking of her failed attempt to perm it

Masaki's smile widened at seeing his other great granddaughter wearing the dress he bought for her as well.

"Oh Tomoyo you wore your dress for me too?"

She nodded her head silently, not trusting her voice. Masaki wrapped the two second cousins into a tight hug.

"Oh you two are such wonderful girls, doing something like this for your old grandfather," he said appreciatively.

Toya was laughing even more at seeing his second cousin also wearing the ugly dress. Nakuru attempted to make the girls feel a little better.

"Wow, those sure are, um . . . unique," she said not finding a better word for the monstrosities in front of her.

"Oh I'm sure I could find one for you too dear," Masaki assured her. "You'd look ravishing in a red one."

Nakuru sweat dropped as Toya tried to hold another wave of laughter at bay.

"Alright everyone, now that all parties are present, lets head to the den for some drinks and visiting," Fujitaka interjected leading the group out of the front room.

As everyone headed for the den Tomoyo whispered to Sakura, "So your mom got to you too huh?"

"Do you think I'd be wearing this dress otherwise?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Sakura what on earth did you do to your hair?" her mother interrupted while refreshing her glass of wine.

She blushed in embarrassment as all eyes fell on her bad perm job.

"I tried to perm it but it didn't turn out so well," she said meekly.

Her mother shook her head.

"You should have never tried to perm your hair, the amount of time you leave that stuff in is very crucial to how it turns out and you get side tracked way to easily," Nadeshiko reprimanded. "Now your hair looks worse than before when it was limp and stringy."

Sakura's right eye twitched slightly. It was her mother's fault her perm was ruined in the first place! If she hadn't kept Sakura on the phone so long her hair would not look like she had been electrocuted. It always seemed to be a lose-lose situation when it came to pleasing her mother. Tomoyo placed a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder. She knew how Sakura was feeling. After all her own mother was the same way with her at times. It was obvious Sonomi and Nadeshiko were related in this sense.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can fix it," she said softly.

Sakura smiled faintly. Her cousin was on top when it came to fashion and style. She had good taste in clothing, make up, and hair. If anyone could fix it surely it was Tomoyo. How lucky for Sakura that she was her cousin.

"That'd be great thanks Tomoyo."

Once everyone had a drink of their choosing they seated themselves around the room on the plush furniture and continued talking.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Fujitaka asked Sakura and Syaoran.

"At the library," Sakura answered.

"In a bar," Syaoran said simultaneously.

Nadeshiko nearly choked on her wine while her daughter's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She hadn't thought to come up with a meeting story or a first date story with Syaoran so that they would be on the same page for a question like this. Everyone was staring at the pair waiting for an explanation in regards to their different answers. Sakura slapped her hand on Syaoran's back hard earning a grunt from her "boyfriend."

"Haha, very funny sweetie. You're such a kidder! That's one of the things I like most about you," she said trying to pass his answer off as a joke, "Especially since you know I won't be 20 until April 1st."

"Uh, yeah, ha ha, of course I was joking. We met in the library," Syaoran said apprehensively.

The others laughed at Syaoran's "joke." Sakura relaxed her tensed figure since they all seemed convinced that Syaoran had been joking. Not only had that almost blown their secret but it could have gotten Sakura in big trouble with her parents if they thought she was sneaking into bars underage.

"So what are you majoring in son?" Fujitaka asked.

"Business."

"That's a useful one. What kind of job do you want to get when you are done?" Sakura's father inquired.

"Oh I already have a job."

"Yeah Dad, Syaoran's on the board of directors for Li Corp," Sakura chimed in.

The expression on Fujitaka's face showed that he was clearly impressed.

"Is that so? That's impressive. How'd you get a position like that while still in college?"

"Well, my family owns the corporation. I was given a spot in the company to gain experience and practice since I'm set to inherit it someday. Because I'm not done with college yet I don't really have the amount of say others on the board have but I still have some responsibility," he explained.

"You're one of those Lis?" Sonomi asked, "I have a big toy company and I do business with Li Corp from time to time. That company has its hands in everything. I certainly didn't think I would be meeting the heir this week. What a pleasant surprise!"

Turning to Sakura she smiled, "You sure have good taste Sakura."

"Uh thanks."

"Yeah aren't you something! And here I thought Toya was a good catch because he's in law school!" Nakuru exclaimed receiving a glare from her boyfriend.

"Handsome, well off, smart, and funny, yes I have to agree you are quite a catch!" Nadeshiko beamed, "I almost can't believe our Sakura managed to snag you."

Sakura's right eye started to twitch again while Syaoran blushed at the way her family was carrying on about him. She was glad her family was so impressed with him, but they didn't have to make it seem like she was incapable of getting a man like him. True the whole thing was a hoax but still. Satoshi, the boy she had been dating right before this, wasn't too bad. He wasn't as impressive as Syaoran but that's because Syaoran was on a whole other level then most people their age. The only real problem with Satoshi was his inability to commit which was what caused Sakura to drag Syaoran here instead. It was a shame her family was being dazzled by a random guy she met earlier today but it was better than showing up single again and having to hear about it the whole trip. Sakura leaned back into the couch she was seated on and continued to listen to her family gush over her amazing "boyfriend."

**xXxXxXx**

""Hey this is Syaoran, sorry I can't answer the phone right now-"

Meilin snapped her cell phone shut immensely irritated. The place was practically a ghost town now. Finals were official over and all the other students had taken off for break. She should be on her way home too if not already at home yet here she was still at the now deserted university. She had looked all over campus for her fiancé after he failed to show at the café. She checked the library, the student center, the business building, and his apartment but found no sign of him. His car was at his apartment so she was sure he didn't leave without her (not that she thought he would have anyway) yet she had no idea where he was or what he was doing that kept him from meeting her on time. She had tried to call him several times on his cell phone too but every time she got his voicemail. She left a message the first few times but had given up on that. There was no point in taking up all the space in his inbox. Out of ideas, Meilin finally headed back to her own apartment. Thankfully she had a car of her own on campus so she'd just drive herself home instead of going with Syaoran as they had planned. She was furious at how things had turned out but she was also getting worried. It wasn't like Syaoran to not show or to not call and explain what was going on or to not answer his phone. Something was certainly amiss.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura and Syaoran were getting their bags out of Sakura's car.

"Man I can't believe we almost blew it back there when you said we met in a bar," Sakura said.

"Sorry, how was I supposed to know you weren't 20 yet? I turned 20 back in July," he said defensively.

"I know I know it's not your fault. I'm just saying that was a close one."

Syaoran stared at the back of her head as she wiggled her over stuffed black duffle bag out of the back seat. There was something he wanted to ask her about.

"Hey what did your mom mean?" he finally asked.

"Huh?"

"Earlier, when I told her my name she said she knew it started with an 'S' but it had been over a month since you told her and she couldn't remember the whole name. How could you have told her my name over a month ago, we just met today," he stated.

"Oh that," Sakura slung her duffle bag over her shoulder, "I was dating a guy named Satoshi off and on for a few months up until recently. My mom just assumed I must have told her my boyfriend's name was 'Syaoran' instead of 'Satoshi.' Lucky for me your name starts with an 'S' too," she stated nonchalantly.

Syaoran smirked, "Oh I get it now. You got dumped for Christmas and you didn't tell your parents"

"I did not get dumped!" Sakura argued, "Satoshi just felt like meeting my parents for Christmas was moving a little too fast so he wanted to take a break and see how we feel once we come back next semester."

Syaoran continued to smirk, "If you say so."

"That's not your concern anyway, you just focus on pretending to be my boyfriend like we agreed," she said hotly.

"Yeah, yeah I got it," he said as he removed his green duffle bag from the back seat as well.

They headed back inside and Nadeshiko took them upstairs. She opened a door and guided them into the room. It was very spacious with a queen size bed in the middle and dressers made of oak. There was a television set across from the bed and even a fireplace. It was very luxurious.

"You two will be sleeping in here," Nadeshiko announced.

Sakura and Syaoran both gawked at her, their faces scarlet red. They hadn't been planning on staying in the same room let alone the same bed.

"B-but mom," Sakura stuttered, "we can't stay in the same room! I mean we're not married yet. We're very old fashioned."

Nadeshiko waved her off.

"Oh please, you two are away at college, don't think I'm a fool. You probably spend the night at each other's place all the time so what's the difference? Besides you're adults and the rooms all have queen beds in them and we don't have an even number of guys and girls to pair you up with same sex roommates so we figured we might as well let the couples stay together. We can get hip with the times," she finished with a wink.

Sakura groaned at her mom's lame attempt to be cool.

"Anyway you two should get to bed early, we have a big day of family fun ahead of us tomorrow!" her mother cried excitedly before heading down the hallway to her own room.

The pair just stood there at a loss for words. Finally Syaoran spoke.

"You look like a cover thief."

Sakura blinked, "What?"

"You look like a cover thief," he shrugged, "I'm just saying you better not steal all the covers in the middle of the night."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Yeah well you look like a bed hog so you'd better not hog the bed all night or I'll push you out of it!"

In a huff she stormed into the room with her duffle bag. Syaoran glared at her back before following after her. This was not how he wanted to spend his Christmas.

_**End chapter 2.**_

**A/N: **Well that's chapter two. I still want to finish this by Christmas but unfortunately I might not be able to. My boyfriend's grandfather passed away so I spent several hours Sunday and Saturday at the wake and funeral. Plus I got back on the schedule at the Target in my hometown so I could earn some extra cash for Christmas and they gave me several long shifts. I work tonight from 2:30 to close which is midnight or later. I didn't think I'd be full-time since I'm just seasonal. Plus my friends all want to hang out since I'm home from college and of course I'd like to see them too so that's going to take up some time. However, if I don't finish by Christmas I should be able to finish before New Years I think, definitely before I go back to school. So that's within the next two weeks at least. In my haste to get this chapter out quickly, I only had time to proof read it twice so hopefully there aren't many typos. When I have more time I'll proof read it some more and upload a cleaner version. Anyway thanks for the support so far, your reviews have been enjoyable as well as helpful. Keep'em comin' :)

_SakuraJade_


	3. Getting in the Christmas Spirit

**A/N:** Here's chapter 3! All of you who have been reviewing are simply the best! I love your comments and thoughts :) They are the main thing driving me to get these out so fast, so thanks and everyone else enjoying this story that isn't reviewing you should thank them too! I also wanted to say a few things about the characters in this story before the chapter starts. I paired Toya and Nakuru up because for one I thought they made a cute couple in CCS. Plus I thought it'd be funny/fun to write them and I prefer to use canon characters before I make up characters and she was the only girl (I know technically she had no sex or gender but still) they showed repeatedly from Seijou High. Same went for my reasoning behind Tomoyo and Eriol. I also think they made a cute couple and I know a lot of people agree with that so it was a win-win for the most part there. As for Nadeshiko, a lot of you have said you really like how I'm portraying her character and some have even stated that they could see her being like this. I'm glad a lot of you feel that way. The way I see it, she was dead in the original show and they didn't talk about her much so we really didn't get a good glimpse at her personality. I do admit the glimpse we get doesn't really portray her as being this way, but, for all we know if she hadn't passed away she could have gotten like this. We'll never know for sure. I don't think she would have been like this myself, but for the purpose of this fic she is lol Most of you seem to be enjoying it anyway because you say she reminds you of your own mothers so you can relate to how Sakura feels (my mom's like this too sometimes but not too often thank goodness) so no harm no foul. Although she gets better as the story goes and so does Sakura's OOC that some people have pointed out. Remember, the first day of this fic (which is the first two chapters) was very bad and nerve racking for Sakura so that's part of the reason she was the way she was. She will be more canon Sakura-like as the story goes on, starting with this chapter. Also though they are all older, so it only makes sense that they would be a little different anyway from the way they were in the original show. I mean they are about a whole decade older after all. Well that's all I have to say about the characters and stuff for now, hope you enjoy chapter 3!

Disclaimer: "CLAMP owns Cardcaptor Sakura, and ABC Family owns Holiday in Handcuffs."

" means spoken words

_Italics_ means thoughts

() means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 3: Getting in the Christmas Spirit_

_**December 21**__**st**__** . . . **_

Sakura slouched at the breakfast table the next morning. She was exhausted from last night, she didn't sleep a wink! She couldn't, she was too uncomfortable and it wasn't because of the bed either. The mattress was made of soft, plush foam and the covers were thick and warm . . . it was the stranger next to her that was the problem! Normally she squirmed all night in bed but last night she laid as stiff as a board. She glanced at Syaoran out of the corner of her eye. He was sitting next to her and he didn't look any better. She stifled a yawn as she watched his head droop towards his stack of pancakes. Apparently he didn't get much sleep either. Sakura let out a tiresome sigh; it was going to be a long trip at this rate. Nadeshiko came bounding into the kitchen, a piece of paper in her hands.

"Finish up breakfast everyone, we have a lot to do today!" she exclaimed. Her pearly white teeth shinning from her wide smile.

Sakura moaned and dropped her head onto the table. All she wanted to do was go back to bed.

Nadeshiko continued, "First on the itinerary is to decorate the cabin for Christmas."

She looked at Toya, Syaoran, and Eriol sitting at the table before saying, "I'll leave the outside up to you boys."

Syaoran raised his eye brows. What was all this business about going outside in the cold and decorating? For what? Why should they do it? This was Nadeshiko's idea of family fun? What was she smoking?

"Make sure you put lights on the bushes and on the roof, I want this place to really shine!"

She looked at Sakura, Tomoyo, and Nakuru.

"You three will be decorating the inside and Grandpa and Fujitaka will go out to get us a tree. Sonomi and I will be on Chirstmas cookie duty!"

"Oh we're going to make this place look so pretty!" Nakuru exclaimed, clearly as excited as Nadeshiko.

Tomoyo, who was sitting on Sakura's other side, leaned over and whispered to her cousin.

"We'll fix your hair before we start the decorating."

Sakura smiled despite her tiredness, she couldn't wait to be rid of the frizzy mess adorning her head.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran was standing in the snow outside the front of the cabin waiting to start decorating. He still didn't see the point or the need. They were in the middle of no where so who was going to see the place? He was standing outside freezing for nothing. What a waste of time. Toya and Eriol returned from the garage dragging boxes full of lights, garland, and wreaths. When they reached Syaoran, Toya started giving orders.

"Alright, you two start unpacking the boxes and I'll get the ladder for the roof," he said as he walked back towards the garage after dropping the box he had been carrying.

Eriol started opening one of the boxes. "I guess we'd better get started."

Accepting the fact that he was expected to help, Syaoran bent over the box and helped Eriol remove a strand of tangled, colored lights.

"So were you nervous about meeting Sakura's family?" Eriol asked suddenly.

"Uh . . . not really," he said.

He wasn't really nervous about meeting Sakura's family members, what did he care if they liked him or not? He wasn't really dating her anyway so it was no skin off his back if they didn't like him. He was a little nervous, however, that he'd slip up and blow their secret which would cause Sakura to squeal about what she over heard. That's what he was worried about.

"What about you?" he decided to ask even though he didn't really care about the answer. He was just trying to make conversation to be polite.

"Nah, Tomoyo and I have been dating for about a year now so it was about time I met her family anyway," he revealed with a smile.

Toya came back around to the front of the cabin supporting a ladder on his shoulder. He leaned it against the gutter then looked back at the other two guys.

"Hey kid come over here and hand me this stuff once I'm on the roof," Toya ordered staring at Syaoran.

Syaoran put the strand of lights he had been holding on the ground and walked over to Toya with one of the boxes. Sakura's older brother made him feel slightly unnerved for some reason. It was going to be a long morning working with him.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura was sitting on a chair in the big bathroom adjourned to her room with a towel draped over her. Tomoyo was behind her with a pair of rubber gloves on applying a thick, brown liquid to the frizzy mass that used to be her hair. The stuff smelled rancid and made Sakura's head tingle slightly but Tomoyo was using it in an attempt to take out the failed perm job so Sakura was more than willing to deal with the smell and the tingle the product induced. It was for the greater good after all.

"Thanks for helping me out with this, Tomoyo," Sakura said sincerely. "I couldn't stand it anymore! When I went to sleep last night it felt like I was sleeping on a Brill-o pad."

Tomoyo chuckled at her cousin's complaint.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura, I'm more than happy to help you. You know I've always loved dressing you up and doing your hair and stuff." Her eyes started to shine. "You're like a life size Barbie doll!"

Sakura sweat dropped. She clearly remembered growing up with her cousin always wanting to do her up. Sometimes it was fun. At times Tomoyo could make her feel like a princess, but other times she made her feel like the court jester with the weird outfits she'd have her wear.

"So, what's the deal with you and Syaoran?" Tomoyo inquired interrupting Sakura's reminiscing.

"What do you mean?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes, her cousin should know by now that she couldn't hide something from her for long.

"You know what I mean. Unlike your mother, I remember the last time you told me the name of your boyfriend it was Satoshi not Syaoran," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Well Satoshi and I broke up shortly after I told you about him and then Syaoran and I-" Sakura mumbled trying to weasel her way out of the tight spot her cousin had put her in.

Tomoyo cut her off, "Plus I can tell by the way you and Syaoran are acting that something is not kosher here."

Sakura sweat dropped, a sheepish smile plastered on her face and a rosy tint on her cheeks. She was busted.

_Leave it to Tomoyo to be as observant as ever,_ she thought.

"Well?" Tomoyo pushed, still waiting for an answer.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Okay fine I'll tell you the truth . . ."

She explained to Tomoyo exactly what happened with her and Satoshi and how Syaoran ended up here posing as her boyfriend instead. Tomoyo's eyes widened, her jaw hanging open slightly, as her cousin recounted the events of the day before. She knew something was up but she didn't quite expect the story Sakura recapped.

"You blackmailed a random guy you met yesterday into coming here for Christmas?" was all she could say when Sakura had finished.

"Shhhhh!" Sakura hushed her. "Keep it down I don't want the whole family to know, jeeze!"

"Sorry I'm just so . . . shocked. It's not like you to use someone like that," she whispered.

"I know I just . . . well you know how my parents have been hounding me to get serious about my relationships and then you and Toya were bring your significant others and Satoshi bailed at the last second and, well, I just couldn't stand the thought of disappointing my parents again," Sakura said solemnly. "I plead temporary insanity."

Tomoyo stared at her cousin seriously for a second then she broke down in a fit of giggles. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

Tomoyo caught her breath then said, "I just can't believe you did that! There's some random stranger stuck outside helping Eriol and Toya decorate the cabin for the family of a girl he doesn't even know! Hahaha, come on that's pretty funny!"

Tomoyo's laughter was contagious and Sakura joined in.

"Yeah I guess this Christmas will be one for the books," she admitted.

"Well of all the random guys walking around at your college you sure got a good one. Syaoran is very impressive, your parents are thrilled with him that much is certain," Tomoyo stated.

"Yeah it just kind of worked out that way. Lucky for me I guess," Sakura replied with a small smile.

Tomoyo's face grew somber as she said, "Seriously though, what are you going to do after Christmas?"

Sakura shrugged, "On the 26th I'll take Syaoran back to campus so he can go his separate way and that will be that. I'll probably never even see him again to be honest; I mean there are 21,000 students at Kiyoshi University."

"But what about your parents, what are you going to tell them?"

Sakura looked down at her clasped hands lying in her lap. "Simple, I'll just tell them we didn't work out, that we broke up and they'll just have to get over it."

"Oh yeah right, like they'll just get over it," Tomoyo deadpanned, "He's good looking, rich, smart, and funny. If he could walk on water they'd probably worship him! You know they'll have a fit. If you say he dumped you they'll assume you did something wrong, if you say you dumped him they'll just badger you for letting him go," she pointed out.

"Well then I'll say I broke it off because he cheated on me or something, I'll think of something," she assured her cousin.

"You know, I'd be really surprised if Syaoran's actually single," Tomoyo said slightly changing the topic.

"What?"

"Well come on look at him. I find it hard to believe that he was single when you snatched him in the first place."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I didn't even think of that! What if I stole someone else's boyfriend? Or what if he had his own family plans for Christmas and now he won't be able to go because I dragged him to mine?" Sakura panicked.

"Whoa whoa, chill out," Tomoyo said trying to calm her down, "I was just speculating."

"Yeah but-"

"It doesn't matter now, what's done is done," Tomoyo insisted. "If you feel that bad then just make sure he has a good time here at least."

A small timer set on the base of the bathroom sink started to chime.

"You're hair is done," Tomoyo announced as she shut off the alarm.

She removed the towel from around Sakura's neck so she could get in the shower and wash it out.

"Finally, I'm so glad it will be back to normal," Sakura replied happily.

Tomoyo stared at her chemically drenched hair for a second before saying, "You know, Sakura, why don't you let me cut your hair after you rinse that stuff out."

"Why?"

"Well . . . I just think it would look so nice on you short. I mean your mom had a point it is kind of stringy and it does just hang there."

"Thanks, Tomoyo," Sakura said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean though I'm serious. Trust me it will look way cute if you let me shorten it up and layer it some," Tomoyo persuaded.

"But we have to help Nakuru decorate; it's not fair to make her do it by herself."

"We will, it won't take me that long, trust me," Tomoyo made a pouting face, "Please?"

Sakura started at her second cousin evenly.

"Fine . . ." she finally agreed.

Tomoyo's eyes went starry. "Oh this is going to be so great!"

Sakura sweat dropped, it had better be. She didn't really like her hair the way it was. In coming down to her upper back it was very thin and she really couldn't do much with it other than just let it hang there like her mother had pointed out. Still though she didn't get it cut in fear that she would hate that more. Then she'd be stuck like that for a while since her hair took such a long time to grow. However since it was Tomoyo who wanted to cut it she decided to go for it. Tomoyo did have impeccable taste after all.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran dusted a fresh layer of snow from the top of his damp, chestnut colored hair. It had started snowing a while ago adding another thick layer on top of the old snow that had fallen days ago. He was tired and he was cold, which made him grouchy enough as it was. The freshly fallen snow only helped to sour his already foul mood. He had spent the earlier half of his life growing up in Hong Kong, which was warm year round. Now, even after the years he had spent in Japan, he was still not used to the cold or the snow and he avoided it as much as possible. Not today however. He had already spent a good four hours freezing his butt off outside helping Eriol and Toya decorate the outside of the cabin. They had gotten all the bushes done and Eriol was wrapping lights and garland around the porch railings while he helped Toya finish up the icicle lights on the roof. Syaoran was half way up the ladder holding the strand of multicolored icicle lights while Toya was on the roof clipping them to the gutter. They were finally nearing the end much to Syaoran's relief.

"So kid, how long have you been with my sister?" Toya suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Uh . . . for about three months," Syaoran replied making a mental note to mention that to Sakura so they didn't screw up and say different lengths of time. He figured that was a good amount of time to pick since she had mentioned that she was with the guy he was replacing for about three months.

"I see," Toya grunted as he clipped another hook to the gutter. "I was pretty surprised when my sister showed up here with you."

"Why?" Syaoran asked slightly curious.

"Because I know my little sister and you are definitely not the type of guy she'd typically go for," he said straight forward as he clipped the final hook on the gutter.

Syaoran almost slipped off the latter at Toya's words. Toya smirked at the reaction he got from him.

Leaning in close to Syaoran's face he whispered, "I'm not sure what's really going on here, but I can tell you that if you do anything to hurt my little sister I'll make you regret it on so many levels."

Syaoran gulped. Although he was sure he could hold his own, Toya was still intimidating.

"TOOOYAAA!" Nukuru's ear splitting scream pierced the air catching the guys off guard.

Toya flinched in surprise from the wail and lost his footing on the roof. He slid off the edge grabbing Syaoran along the way reflexively in an attempt to stop himself. All he ended up doing, however, was taking Syaoran down with him. The two boys landed in a heap near Eriol, the ladder clattering to the ground next to them.

"Good thing you guys were on the roof over the porch since it's the lowest," Eriol stated staring at the disgruntled guys splattered with snow.

Nakuru came bounding over to them from the porch and latched onto Toya.

"Oh, Toya, are you okay honey!" she cried.

"Yeah, the snow and Sakura's boyfriend broke my fall," he replied.

"Oh thank goodness," she sighed, squeezing him tighter.

"Um, could you guys get off of me?" Syaoran's muffled voice came from beneath the couple.

Eriol helped Syaoran up once Nakuru and Toya moved. Syaoran started to brush the snow off his clothes while the couple talked.

"What's wrong?" Toya asked her referring to her scream from earlier.

"Oh I wanted to let you guys know that it's time for lunch!"

Eriol and Syaoran face faulted while Toya sweat dropped. Leave it to Nakuru to be so dramatic over nothing. Then again she wouldn't be the girlfriend he loved if she wasn't always so out going and eccentric.

"You three must be starving after working so hard out here!" she exclaimed as she clasped Toya's hand and led him into the house.

Eriol and Syaoran followed behind the couple. Syaoran reveled in the warmth of the cabin once they walked inside. It felt amazing to him after being out in the cold for so long. As he took off his black wool coat and shoes he spied a girl with full, glossy honey-auburn hair that stopped a little above her shoulders and curled under slightly at the top of the stairs weaving some garland and lights around the railing of the banister. He didn't recognizer her until she turned around and he saw the emerald green of her eyes. His jaw dropped open, it was Sakura. She looked completely different from the girl he met yesterday with the frizzed out curls and tacky, shapeless dress. She had on a pair of dark blue jeans and a dazzling white sweater with silver threads weaved into it. The outfit complimented her figure nicely, clearly showing that she wasn't as flat-chested or curve-less as the hideous pink dress made her out to be. Syaoran continued to stare blatantly, she was stunning. She finished securing the garland and lights with her slender fingers then she turned and noticed Syaoran watching her near the front door. She smiled brightly and descended the stairs towards him.

"So how's it look?" she asked panning her hand around to indicate she was talking about the decorating her, Tomoyo, and Nakuru had done.

"Beautiful . . ." he trailed off honestly, although he wasn't talking about the decorating, he was talking about her. Who knew this beauty was beneath that awful dress and hair he met only yesterday?

"Yeah I think it came out pretty nice too," she said meaning the decorating.

He continued to stare at her, not uttering a word. She blushed under his scrutinizing gaze.

"What?" she asked self consciously.

He shook his head, heat seeping into his own cheeks. "Uh, nothing," he mumbled. "It's just your hair . . ."

"Does it look bad?" she whispered as she fingered a strand subconsciously.

"No not at all. It looks nice."

A look of relief fluttered over her face. "Oh good. Tomoyo insisted that I let her cut it and layer it after she took that awful perm out."

"Well she did a good job," he smiled.

"Thank you," Tomoyo said having heard Syaoran's statement as she came out of the kitchen, "although it's not hard to make Sakura look good since she's already so cute," she finished with a wink at her cousin.

Sakura sweat dropped.

"Anyway we're starting lunch so you two need to get in the kitchen."

Sakura nodded her head and followed after Tomoyo. Syaoran took a step but stopped mid stride. His cell phone was vibrating in his pocket. He whipped it out and checked the name on the front. It was Meilin. Quickly he ran into the ground floor bathroom and shut the door before answering it.

"Hello?" he whispered.

"Syaoran where the HELL are you?" she cried in both frustration and relief.

"Listen, Meilin, something-"

"No YOU listen! I looked for you all over campus for hours, do you hear me HOURS, and you were no where! I had to drive myself home in the end! I had no idea what happened to you and neither did anyone at your house! Do you know how worried I've been?" she heaved.

Syaoran took advantage of her momentary break. "I can explain! Something unexpected came up for work and it was an emergency!" he said in a rush.

"Well why didn't you at least call me then!" she demanded. "I've been worried sick about you!"

I couldn't my cell was on low battery yesterday and I didn't have any reception," he explained.

The line was quiet for a minute before Meilin spoke again.

"I swear . . . od . . . Syao . . . you . . ." her voice came through in patches.

"What was that? Meilin, I can't understand you," he said.

"Hello?" he called into the phone when she didn't respond.

There was nothing but dead air. He pulled his cell phone away from his ear and looked at the screen. All his reception bars had disappeared and the screen said 'call failed' in black letters. He flipped the phone shut and slid it back into his pocket since there was nothing he could do about it. The cell phone reception at the cabin was obviously very fickle, but at least he was able to talk to Meilin for a couple of minutes so she knew he was okay. Even though he was only engaged to her because it was arranged by their parents he still didn't want to make her sit around and worry about him. Not being able to do anything about the lack of reception bars, he headed for the kitchen to join the others for lunch.

**xXxXxXx**

The setting sun was shinning through the den windows while everyone decorated the Christmas tree that Fujitaka and Masaki brought back. Tiny, colorful lights were strung around it with shiny pieces of silvery white tinsel clinging to the branches like snow. There were many glass ornaments of all different shapes and colors hanging from the branches. Syaoran smiled warmly at the pretty tree, but not so much because it was pretty. After all, he'd seen many breathtaking Christmas trees in his own house throughout his life, but this was the first one he helped decorate and that seemed to make all the difference. Though this tree looked very nice it wasn't even close to some of the trees that had been in the Li mansion throughout the years, yet he liked it more than any of the trees that his family had had and that was because he actually put work into making this tree look nice. His parents were always so busy they didn't have much time for him or his four older sisters. At Christmas time their mansion was always decorated, complete with a tree and all, but the servants did the decorating. Sure it looked nice, but it didn't mean much to him and neither did Christmas for that matter. What was a family holiday if you hardly spent it with your family? After spending a whole day decorating the cabin though, the lights and bows and garland meant so much more because he worked hard on it even though he didn't want to do it at the time. Having put effort into the decorating made it look prettier than any of the fantastic decorating he had seen at the Li mansion.

"What are you smiling at?" Sakura asked lightly as she stepped next to him. "Come on tell me," she pushed when he didn't say anything.

"Nothing. It's just . . . this is the first tree I've ever decorated. It was kind of fun," he admitted.

Sakura's mouth hung open in surprise. He'd never decorated a Christmas tree before? What planet was he from?

"You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head.

"Wow. I couldn't imagine not decorating a tree every year and here you've never done it once. How could you not have a Christmas tree growing up?" she questioned.

"No we had a Christmas tree every year, it's just our maids and butlers put it up," he explained.

"I see," was all she could think to say.

She walked over to the big box the Christmas tree paraphernalia had been in and took out a smaller, red box. Opening it she removed a big, golden star.

"I know it's his first Christmas with us, but I think that this year Syaoran should put the star on top of the tree," she announced to everyone.

"What? That's my job!" Toya said defensively.

"I know but Syaoran's never decorated a Christmas tree before."

"Oh my!" Nadeshiko exclaimed. "Yes dear you do the honors," she insisted, a motherly smile gracing her face.

Toya grumbled at having his special job taken away. Nakuru pinched his cheeks and wiggled them.

"Awwww, don't be upset To-ya," she said in a sugary voice. "You're still number one in my book!"

He swatted her hands away so she glomped on to him in a fierce hug instead. Sakura held the star out to Syaoran.

"Here," she offered with a warm smile.

He gently took it from her and stared at it for a second before taking it over to the tree. Fujitaka had set a chair next to the tree so he could reach the top. He climbed up the wooden chair and carefully placed the star on the top making sure it wasn't crooked. Syaoran glanced around the room at all the happy faces. The actual act of placing the star on the top of the tree didn't seem like much, but he knew it was a big deal symbolically. He was touched they wanted him to be the one to do it. He stepped off the chair as Fujitaka plugged in the tree. It was instantly ablaze in color and everyone's face reflected the joy they were feeling over the Christmas tree they had created.

"And now that the sun has finally finished setting we can head outside and see the wonderful job the boys did on decorating the exterior!" Nadeshiko announced.

The family shuffled towards the door donning their shoes and coats before heading outside. Once everyone was standing in the snow-covered lawn, Toya plugged the lights in. The roof and railings of the cabin along with the bushes glowed softly in a plethora of different colors. It was gorgeous. Toya walked over to the rest of the family to get a better look.

"You boys did a splendid job," Masaki commented.

Sonomi nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, Toya, it's simply wonderful!" Nakuru gushed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Nakuru . . ." he whined but the tone in his voice made it clear that he wasn't annoyed.

Syaoran had to admit it turned out nicely. He gazed at the green-eyed girl standing next to him. Her eyes twinkled with pure delight at the sight before them, her lips curved up in a lighthearted smile. The soft, colorful glow of the lights complemented her beauty. She looked at Syaoran and their eyes locked. Suddenly she spoke.

"I'm sorry you had to freeze out here all day working on this."

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't that bad," he shrugged.

"Still though, thank you for being such a good sport about it," she responded as she looked back at the magnificent sight in front of them.

"You're welcome," he said sincerely.

Though he spent hours outside in the cold and it had taken a long time and a lot of work to put all the decorations up, the appreciative and delighted look on Sakura's face made it well worth it to him.

_**End chapter 3.**_

**A/N:** I made Kiyoshi University up and I just used the number of students at my own university for the record. Also, I know there are many people out there that don't celebrate Christmas, but in Japan, like, everyone does, at least in the aspects of Christmas trees, cakes, presents, and Santa Clause. It's actually more of a holiday spent with your significant other rather than your family but not in this story simply because I wouldn't have a story otherwise lol Thanks again for all the support and reviews you guys, they are wonderful so please keep leaving them! See you in chapter 4 :)

_**SakuraJade**_


	4. Growing Closer

**A/N:** Moving right along here's chapter 4! Kai-Crescent-Moon asked how long this story was going to be. Uh . . . to be honest I'm not fully sure myself lol I do know it will be at least two more chapters though, maybe three but most likely no more than that. I'm going to put Christmas Eve and Day in one chapter and then have a wrap up chapter and that should be it, I think. I tend to have few but slightly lengthy chapters so two more should be enough. Don't hold me to it though, everything's subject to change lol Anyway thanks for the reviews, so many of you have made such great comments! I enjoy hearing what you really like (jennycuenca, you've been really good at that so double thanks to you!), it helps me cater to your likes etc. So keep it up, it made my Christmas to receive so many nice reviews for this story so quickly :)

Disclaimer: "I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura CLAMP does and ABC Family owns Holiday in Handcuffs."

" means spoken words

_Italics_ means thoughts

() means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 4: Growing Closer_

_**December 22**__**nd . . .  
**_

Syaoran descended the stairs in the morning feeling refreshed. He had slept much better than yesterday night. It was still a little awkward sharing a bed with a girl he hardly knew but he was so exhausted from all the decorating he had done the day before coupled with the lack of sleep from the pervious night that he was out like a light the minute his head hit the pillow. He had a feeling Sakura had slept well too. She didn't even stir when he got up in the morning to take a shower. On his way to the kitchen he passed by the den and stopped for a minute to admire the shining Christmas tree the family had decorated the day before.

"Good morning Syaoran," Tomoyo's voice sounded from behind him as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Oh morning."

"Where's Sakura?" she asked.

"Finishing up her shower," he answered simply

"Oh good. I was afraid she was still sleeping and if that was the case then her mom probably would have had a fit that Sakura threw today's plans off."

"Why does she give Sakura such a hard time anyway?" Syaoran asked.

Tomoyo stopped her walk to the kitchen and looked back at him.

"She wasn't always like that with Sakura. It started after she went away to college. Ever since our freshman year Nadeshiko has been on Sakura's case about everything," Tomoyo revealed.

"But why? I mean she's a good daughter," he pointed out.

Tomoyo tucked a stray lock of violet-black hair behind her ear.

"I know and Nadeshiko knows too. I think it's because she worries about Sakura so much. I mean Sakura's the baby of the family. Nadeshiko is just having a hard time letting go I think," she said truthfully.

"That's probably why she wants to see Sakura settled down in a happy and serious relationship too," she added. "The way she sees it, she can't look after Sakura anymore like she could when she lived at home regularly, but if she was in a serious relationship she'd have a boyfriend who could make sure she was safe and happy the way Nadeshiko used to. It makes her feel better knowing Sakura has someone that really loves her and is looking after her," Tomoyo finished, her piercing gaze seeing right through Syaoran.

His skin crawled a little from the funny look she gave him before she walked into the kitchen.

_Does she know the truth about Sakura and me? _he wondered as he continued towards the kitchen as well.

Once the rest of the family had made it to the kitchen and had finished their breakfast Nadeshiko whipped out her list again.

"Alright everyone go bundle up because it's day two of the family fun itinerary and that means we're going ice skating!" she announced smiling as usual.

Syaoran was not excited.

**xXxXxXx**

With a heavy thud, Syaoran found himself sprawled out on the ice again. He cursed as he tried to get up but fell over once more. The family had squeezed into two cars after breakfast and drove 20 minutes into town to go ice skating at the local pond. Sakura watched Syaoran fall over again as she tried not to giggle too loudly. It was painfully obvious that he had never ice skated before. She herself wasn't the best since rollerblading was more of her thing and contrary to popular belief, being good at one didn't make you good at the other. Rollerblading and ice skating felt very different, but she could go forwards and backwards without much problem. She could even do a few fancier things. Syaoran on the other hand couldn't even stand up it seemed. At this rate she was starting to worry that he was going to break through the ice and fall in the pond they were on. A few young boys in elementary school skated by his fallen figure and laughed.

"Hey mister you suck," one of them remarked.

"Yeah you want me to teach you how to skate?" another teased as he skated by with ease.

Syaoran growled under his breath at their comments. Sakura glided over to him.

"Boy you've never been ice skating before, have you?"

"Gee you're observant," he barked sarcastically.

She held out her hand.

"Come on take it," she said, "unless you'd rather scoot around the ice on your butt instead."

He reached up and took her offered hand. Getting her balance she helped him to stand then she intertwined her gloved fingers with his to get a good grip on him.

"You hold on tight to my hand and I'll get us going."

She pushed off with one foot and pulled Syaoran along the ice.

"See? It's not so bad," she smiled.

"Yeah until you fall," he commented dryly.

"Well if you practice you won't fall as much," she shot back. "Now start pumping with your feet. Just push one out to the side at a time like this," she said as she demonstrated for him.

Slowly he started to mimic Sakura's movements shakily. As they continued to skate he relaxed and loosened the crushing grip he had on Sakura's hand slightly. He became more comfortable on the ice and his strides became more fluid and in sync with Sakura's so that he was skating with her rather than being dragged along by her. Tomoyo skated past them and did a fancy twirl, Eriol not far behind her shouting praises.

"Tomoyo is so good!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes following her second cousin around the ice.

"How long have you been ice skating?" Syaoran asked.

"I usually go once a year around Christmas time at least, sometimes a couple more times depending on the weather. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, I like all those winter sports. I love the snow. I do like ice skating, but I prefer rollerblading to be honest. I rollerblade year round so I'm a lot better on inline skates than I am on ice skates," she answered truthfully. "Tomoyo is probably the best ice skater in the family."

"You know, I think Tomoyo's on to us," he suddenly said since they were talking about Tomoyo. "I was talking to her this morning and she gave me a funny look. I think she knows we're hiding something."

"Oh, yeah she knows the truth. She could tell something was up so I talked to her about it when she was fixing my hair," Sakura revealed. "It's cool though, she won't say anything. She actually thought it was kind of funny."

"Well, I think your brother is a little suspicious too," Syaoran said after he made sure Toya was no where near them, "He was interrogating me when we were outside decorating yesterday. He asked me how long we've been together, which by the way I told him three months, and he said he was surprised that you were dating me since he doesn't think I'm your type."

"We'll have to be careful around Toya then. He'd rat me out in a second," Sakura huffed, "We only have to hang in there for three more days after today."

They skated along chatting about this and that, simply getting to know each other better. Suddenly Nakuru and Toya skated by together holding hands.

"Awww you two are so cute!" Nakuru squealed, "Aren't they Toya?"

Toya said nothing. Instead he pointed two fingers at his eyes then one at Syaoran reminding him that he was watching. His gesture distracted Syaoran and he stumbled. In the blink of an eye he fell backwards onto the ice, pulling Sakura down on top of him.

"Damn it . . ." Syaoran whined. He had been doing so well.

Toya laughed.

"Maybe he is your type Sakura. After all you're both klutzes," he said before skating off with Nakuru.

"I'm not a klutz Toya!" Sakura shouted after her brother.

She turned her head back to look at Syaoran and her nose brushed his due to the proximity of their faces.

"Oh you two are so cute Eskimo kissing like that!" Tomoyo giggled.

She had skated over to see if they were okay and had seen their noses brush. Sakura and Syaoran blushed at both her comment and at the close contact. They moved apart as quickly as the ice would permit.

"Sorry, I lost my focus," Syoaran said, "I didn't mean to take you down too."

"It's okay," she said as she helped him back up.

They resumed skating, both trying to shake the feeling the nose brush had evoked in them.

**xXxXxXx**

The front door of the cabin swung open as the family herded through it carrying several shopping bags. After they were done ice skating they ate lunch and did some last minute Christmas shopping. Syaoran and Sakura agreed to split up and get each other something. After all, it would look awfully strange if they didn't give each other a gift on Christmas morning. He went with Toya and Eriol and she went with Tomoyo and Nakuru. It was a good idea, but neither of them had any idea what to get the other. In the end they each took a stab in the dark and picked something out for the other hoping it wasn't a stupid present. After the shopping was done the family headed back to the cabin for the evening to relax. Sakura went to Tomoyo's room to wrap Syaoran's gift. When she was done she went back to her own room. Syaoran was laying on his stomach on their bed watching t.v.

"Whatchya watchin'?" she asked as she grabbed a pillow and plopped down on her stomach next to him.

"Some Christmas movie."

"Is it any good?"

"Meh, it's okay," he replied dully.

Since he didn't seem that interested in what he was watching, Sakura decided to discuss something with him.

"Hey Syaoran?" she asked timidly.

Yeah?" he replied, eyes still glued to the television set.

"Um . . . can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said as he turned down the t.v. "What's up?" he asked facing her and giving her his full attention.

"Well . . . when Tomoyo was fixing my hair yesterday we were talking about how I dragged you here and, well, she mentioned something that I didn't even think about," she said uncomfortably as she traced the flower pattern of their comforter with her index finger.

"What was it?" he asked curiously.

"She said that she would be surprised if you weren't already in a relationship because you're such a catch and I didn't even think of that when I blackmailed you into coming to spend Christmas with my family," she said quietly.

Gazing at him intently she asked, "So I wanted to know, are you already in a relationship with another girl?"

Syaoran stared at her evenly. He hadn't been expecting her to ask him that. He found himself wanting to say 'no' but that would have been a lie because technically he was even if it wasn't of his own accord. Finally he spoke.

"Yeah, actually I am," he sighed.

Sakura inhaled sharply. He was already involved with another girl and she just snatched him away for the holidays like it was no big deal. She probably ruined his girlfriend's Christmas as well as his. She felt terrible.

"I should have known it Tomoyo's always right and I mean why would some one like you be single anyway?"

She sat up on the bed in a flash.

"What the hell was I thinking!? I'm such a jerk! I not only ruined your Christmas but I ruined your girlfriend's too-"

"Fiancée," he corrected her.

She smacked her forehead with her palm.

"That's even worse!" she cried.

She sunk back down on the bed clutching her pillow tightly.

"I'm so selfish. I was so busy thinking of myself and my Christmas I ruined yours and your fiancée's. I'm so sorry," she whispered on the verge of tears.

"Whoa hang on a second who said my Christmas was ruined?" he asked her.

She looked at him with confusion etched on her face.

"Well isn't it? You're spending time with a girl you don't know and her family that you never met and have no ties to plus you aren't getting to spend the holidays with the girl you love . . ." she trailed off. It made her feel too bad to continue.

"So far being here really hasn't been so bad. I mean it started off a little rough but your family is nice and I've never really had a real family Christmas like this. It's actually been fun," he said with a small smile.

Sakura looked at him skeptically.

"Really I'm serious," he tried to reassure her. "This is probably one of the nicest Christmases I've ever had."

Hearing him say that made Sakura feel a little better, but it still didn't change the fact that she took him from his fiancée.

"And," he continued, "I never said I wasn't getting to spend Christmas with the girl I love."

Sakura was more confused than ever.

"But you said-"

"What I said," he interrupted her, "was that I have a fiancée. I didn't say anything about being in love."

"Why on Earth would you be engaged to someone you don't love?" Sakura asked bewildered.

Syaoran shrugged, "For business."

Sakura raised an eye brow so he continued.

"Our parents are close business associates and they thought that Meilin and I would be a good match so they arranged it. We are both from affluent families and we are the heirs to our family businesses. It was a powerful match," he stated casually.

"But you don't love her?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran shook his head. "No. She's okay. She's pretty and she's smart, I mean she goes to the same university as us, but it's just not there you know?"

"Then why did you let your parent's engage you to her?"

"Because it was easier to go along with it then to fight them over it and it's not like there was a girl I was in love with at the time. Believe me if I find someone I really love I'll get it broken off," he replied seriously.

"What about her? Does she love you?"

Syaoran ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

"I don't think she's really in love with me. We're friends, we grew up together so she cares about me but I think she's more in love with the idea of our match then with me," he finished.

"I see."

Sakura looked down at the pillow she was hugging. She felt better knowing what she knew but she still felt somewhat guilty for dragging him to the cabin. Suddenly a fluffy feather pillow came crashing down on her head. She looked up in surprise and saw Syaoran smiling widely.

"I can tell you're still worrying about it so stop," he said as he bopped her again.

She swung her pillow back and knocked him in the midsection. Syaoran retaliated resulting in a pillow fight breaking out. Forgetting about the conversation they had moments ago, Sakura and Syaoran swung their pillows at each other laughing wholeheartedly. There was nothing like a good old fashioned pillow fight.

**xXxXxXx**

_**December 23**__**rd . . .  
**_

Not having anything family-specific on the agenda for the day everyone went off to do whatever they wanted. At the moment, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Nakuru were out front building a snowman since the warmer weather was creating good packing snow. The colorful Christmas lights on the bushes and the roof lit up the yard in a soft glow.

"Oh I hope my darling Toya likes his gift!" Nakuru exclaimed as she and Sakura lifted the middle on the snowman onto the bottom half.

Sakura gave Nakuru a sidelong glance. If anyone here was with someone that wasn't their type it was her brother. She didn't understand how they had become a couple. Nakuru was very pretty, and physically she and Toya made a cute couple, but their personalities and their attitudes were so completely different! Toya was on the serious side, always trying to be the strong silent type, whereas Nakuru was all smiles and very playful it seemed.

"If you don't mind my asking," Sakura began, "How did you and my brother get together in the first place? I mean you two are pretty different people."

"I know right?! I never would have thought someone like Toya would have been the guy for me," she admitted.

Packing more snow onto the snowman she continued.

"We live on the same floor of the same apartment building at our university and we always used to get into arguments. Toya was always so grumpy but I knew he couldn't really be that mean so I made it my job to try and make him smile more and lighten up. One day we were out in the hallway in each others faces arguing about my overly perky attitude about everything and suddenly he grabbed me and kissed me," she said smiling fondly at the memory.

Tomoyo's eyes shined with little stars as she placed the head of the snowman on top of the middle ball. "Oh that's so romantic!"

Nakuru nodded, "Yeah I wasn't expecting it at all but it was an amazing moment. It felt like time just stopped. The things I felt when he kissed me . . . I just knew he was the one for me. That was a little over a year ago and we've been together ever since. I think our differences are what brought us together. It makes the relationship more interesting," she concluded.

"Well it is said that opposites attract," Tomoyo pointed out.

That saying certainly rang true for Toya and Nakuru. They were as different as night and day and they liked it that way. A warm smile spread across Sakura's lips. It made her happy to know that her brother had found some one so genuinely sweet and loving. Her smile was quickly wiped away and replaced with a scowl when a big, wet snowball crashed into the back of her head. Nakuru and Tomoyo jumped behind their almost finished snowman. Sakura whirled around, fire burning in her eyes. She saw Toya, Syaoran, and Eriol near the porch laughing. Toya was tossing a snowball up and catching it. He still had his perfect marksmanship.

"Toya!" she screamed as she knocked the clumps of snow out of her hair.

She gathered up a handful of snow and shaped a perfectly round snowball of her own.

Toya smirked. "Go ahead throw it I'll even stand still for you. It's not like you'll hit me, you have the worst aim! You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn," he teased.

She pulled back and threw as hard as she could in an attempt to make the snowball reach her brother. It made it all the way to the boys, but missed Toya completely. It did however nail Syaoran right in the face. Her eyes widened in surprise as her hands sprang to cover her mouth. She couldn't have hit him like that on purpose in a million years. What were the odds?

"T-that was an accident!" she stammered.

Syaoran wiped the cold snow from his face. His cheeks were rosy and stung slightly from the impact of the snow slamming into his skin. He glared at Sakura and she backed up defensively. She was toast.

"Really, I was trying to hit Toya!" she explained but he continued to glare.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled as she broke out in a run. Syaoran took off after her hot on her trail.

Nakuru and Tomoyo came out from behind the snowman to watch but were nailed with more snowballs from Eriol and Toya.

"That's it this means war!" Nakuru cried as she threw fistfuls of snow back at them.

Sakura threw more snow at Syaoran trying to slow him down but it didn't work. He made a jump for her and tackled her to the ground. They rolled through the snow a few feet before they came to a stop. Syaoran was holding Sakura down face first in the snow.

"Come on let me up its wet and cold!" she pleaded.

"Good that's what you get for throwing snow in my face," he retorted in a light voice.

She managed to wiggle her way onto her back so that her face was off the cold snow. She laid on her back breathing heavy from the run, her hair splayed out all around her on the snow like a halo. She looked adorable. They laid there like that in the snow just staring at each other, forgetting about the other four still throwing snow all around. Suddenly Sonomi's voice cut through the air.

"It's time for dinner guys, come back into the house!" she yelled from the porch.

The moment broken Syaoran rolled off of Sakura and helped her up. Instead of letting her hand go once she was standing he continued to hold it as they strode towards the cabin. Sakura stared at their clasped hands as they walked silently.

_Maybe he's doing it to keep up appearances . . . _she thought to herself.

Either way, it felt nice.

**xXxXxXx**

After dinner was over, Nadeshiko gave each of the kids a piece of paper and a pen.

"Now you six make sure to tell Santa what you want for Christmas!" she said as she sent them off to make a wish list.

Sakura rolled her eyes. They were definitely too old for this. Syaoran looked at Sakura but she spoke before he could.

"I know it's lame but just humor her okay?"

They sat down in the den near the Christmas tree and munched on some of the Christmas cookies Nadeshiko and Sonomi had made the other day as they started their letters. After watching her scribble a few words on the blank piece of paper Syaoran spoke.

"I hope you aren't asking for much this year. I'm pretty sure lying to your parents on such a large scale has put you on the naughty list for sure," he teased.

"Ha ha very funny," she deadpanned. "What did you ask for?" she asked as she leaned over and looked at his list.

Raising an eye brow she looked at him.

"A pasta pot??"

"What? I like to cook Italian food okay?" he said defensively. "What did you put on yours?"

She tried to hide it but he yanked it away before she could.

"Make my parents happy for real . . ." he trailed off reading it out loud.

He looked at her and she looked away.

"My parents, especially my mom are so thrilled right now because you're such a great boyfriend. But . . . you're not really my boyfriend so in two days when Christmas is over this charade is going to be over too. As far as they're concerned we will have broken up and then they'll be unhappy with me all over again," she said sadly. "What I need is to find a guy to be with me for real that way my parents can really be happy . . . and maybe I will be too."

She looked at Syaoran briefly before rising from the couch and walking out of the room. She just wanted to be alone for a little bit. Syaoran watched her go, a feeling of loneliness embedding itself in him. He folded Sakura's list and placed it in his back pocket. Why did her words evoke such a feeling inside him? Not sure of the feelings he was starting to have for the green-eyed girl he tossed his list on the table and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't actually be falling in love with her for real . . . could he???

_**End chapter 4.**_

**A/N:** Well that's chapter four. Back in chapter two SilentCynara reviewed and made a joke about Sakura and Syaoran having a pillow fight since they were sharing a bed and even though I wasn't originally planning to have them have one I decided to throw it in there for fun to lighten the mood after their serious discussion. I hope everyone has a wonderful day today and tomorrow! Enjoy some good food and nice presents and cherish the moments you will be spending with your families. One day these moments will be the memories you have to look back on so make them good ones :) Thank you to everyone who gave their condolences over the loss of my boyfriend's Grandfather. He and his family are doing okay. And thank you for all the wonderful holiday wishes you reviewers have been giving me! Merry Christmas everybody, and Happy Holidays as well:) I'll see you all soon in chapter 5!

_SakuraJade_


	5. A Kiss Under the Mistletoe

**A/N: **Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long compared to the others but I was busy working for my mom (she owns a balloon decorating business and was swamped with jobs for New Year's Eve) and Target and then I got sick so I spent a lot of time sleeping. I had, like, the worst sore throat and then before I knew it, New Years had come and gone and winter break was over. So I'm now back at my university starting my FINAL semester ever (because there is no way I'm coming back to get my Ph. D after I get my masters in May, forget it). Man I'm ready to be done with school. Six years and two degrees is a lot of work :( Anyway I'm really, really, sorry you all had to wait so long for this. I know Christmas is becoming a distant memory to everyone by now (I feel like it never even happened myself) so hopefully I'll be able to wrap this X-mas fic up soon. It's going to take a couple of twists in this chapter I wasn't planning on doing but it should be rather entertaining for you readers lol. So, here's chapter five!

Disclaimer: "I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, CLAMP does, and ABC Family owns Holiday in Handcuffs."

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

() means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 5: A kiss under the mistletoe _

_**December 24**__**th**__**, Christmas Eve . . . **_

Sakura yawned and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. Rolling over she looked at the clock, it was ten in the morning. She threw the warm covers back and climbed out of the queen sized bed. After a few good stretches she prodded over to the huge bathroom that was adjacent to the bedroom intent on taking a shower. She opened the door and froze instantly at the sight before her. Syaoran was standing in front of the mirror, shaving with an electric razor. Nothing but a white towel hung loosely around his waist. Sakura shamefully stared at his shirtless abs and chest. She couldn't help it; to say he looked amazing was an understatement! Syaoran turned to look at her and her face burned with a violent blush at having been caught ogling him in such an advanced state of undress.

"Uh, good morning," he said calmly.

"I, uh, um . . . I'm sorry!" she finally managed to stammer out.

She doubled back and slammed the door. Syaoran stared at the closed door. Sakura seemed flustered and he wasn't sure why. After all it wasn't like anything private was showing, the main areas were covered by the towel. Shrugging it off he went about his business trying not to give the encounter another thought. Sakura's body sagged against the wall on the other side, the color of her face rivaling a fresh, summer ripened tomato. She was so embarrassed, but if it was more from what she saw or what she was thinking she wasn't sure. She hadn't known the bathroom was occupied; it was truly an accident, but certainly not an unfortunate one. Syaoran's body was so chiseled and toned just thinking about it made her heartbeat quicken and her pulse race! Sakura shook her head to try and purge such indecent thoughts from her mind but such a feat was easier said than done. Lately, thoughts of Syaoran seemed to consume her mind on a regular basis. Decorating the Christmas tree together, the Eskimo kiss that happened when they were ice skating, and the compromising position they were in after the snowball fight were all regularly present thoughts. Most disturbing to her was the fact that these thoughts always seemed to bring a smile to her lips. She didn't understand it. Syaoran was just some rich guy pretending to be her boyfriend to appease her parents and that was it . . . wasn't it? With a groan Sakura slid down the wall until her bottom hit the floor.

_Why do things always have to get so messed up? _She thought.

**xXxXxXx**

When Syaoran emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later Sakura was no where to be seen. He ran a hand through his damp hair as he headed for the door, intent on getting some breakfast, but stopped abruptly when he heard an electronic rendition of "Jingle Bells" break the still silence of the room. Curious for the source, he followed the noise to the nightstand next to the bed. On the edge, still plugged in, was a tiny pink flip phone. It had to be Sakura's. Syaoran saw the name in the little front window and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. It was Satoshi, the guy Sakura had been seeing before winter break started.

_Why is he calling her now? _Syaoran couldn't help but wonder.

He didn't know a thing about Satoshi, other than the fact that he stiffed Sakura on coming to the cabin to meet her family for Christmas, but that was all it took. Regardless of not knowing another thing about him, not even how he looked, Syaoran found himself disliking Satoshi greatly. He glared at the name flashing across the front of Sakura's phone as it continued to ring. He was sure this guy had to be some kind of a jerk. After all, he basically dumped a sweet girl like Sakura for Christmas! And now he had the nerve to call her on Christmas Eve?! The very thought irritated Syaoran more than he cared to admit. It surprised him how angry this man he'd never even met made him. Syaoran was usually a very reasonable person, but in a split second irrationality overcame reason and before he could stop himself he impulsively snatched the tiny, pink phone off the nightstand top and answered it.

"Hello?"

The standard reply greeting did not come right away. The boy on the other end was obviously thrown off by the deep, husky voice that had answered the phone belonging to a girl.

"Hello??" Syaoran asked again.

"Hi . . . I'm, uh, looking for Sakura," a confused male voice finally spoke up from the other end. "This is her phone right?"

"Yes," Syaoran replied shortly.

"Uh . . . well then who is this?"

_Good question._

Indeed, who was he? He was Li Syaoran of course but that was just a name, it wouldn't mean anything to this other guy on the phone. This guy on the phone, Satoshi, he wanted to know who Syaoran was in relation to Sakura. Syaoran smirked. He'd give this guy an answer that would surely both surprise and agitate him.

"I'm her boyfriend," he answered smugly.

"Excuse me?" Satoshi asked, taken back. He clearly wasn't expecting that and Syaoran's smirk widened.

Served this guy right.

Curtly, Syaoran said, "You heard me."

"I don't understand-" Satoshi started, but he cut him off.

"All you need to understand is that Sakura moved on and is with me now so you don't need to call her again."

And with that said, Syaoran snapped Sakura's cell phone shut, hanging up on Satoshi. Satisfied with what he had done he set the little flip phone back on the nightstand.

"Hey are you coming down for breakfast?" a lithe voice sounded from the doorway.

Startled Syaoran whirled around to face the speaker. It was Sakura. She tilted her head in confusion at the look on his face. He looked like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm coming now."

"Oh, well, okay," she replied unsurely and headed back into the hallway.

Syaoran sighed in relief, he had almost been caught. He was sure Satoshi wasn't a good guy but he didn't know how Sakura would feel about what he did. He might have blown her off for Christmas but was she still hung up on him? Would she be mad if she found out that Satoshi called and he didn't tell her? Or that he took the call the way he did? There was no point in worrying about it now, it couldn't be taken back. Besides, if she got mad at him what difference did it make? He would be going his separate way in a day anyway so would it really matter if she was upset with him?

It shouldn't but he found that it did.

He shook his head violently, aggravated with himself for feelings he was unsure of and couldn't really control, before following after Sakura.

**xXxXxXx**

Satoshi stared at his open cell phone dumbfounded. The short call he had been on ended over a minute ago but his brain was still trying to process what just happened. Sakura, the girl he was dating only five days ago and had suggested a break to, was already seeing someone else?! He hadn't even fully broken up with her! He said they should "take a break" not "break up." True he still wasn't sure if he wanted to continue their relationship when classes were back in session. After all, there were a few other girls he had his eye on back at campus but that was beside the point. He didn't like that Sakura was now out of the picture because she had moved on so quickly. The very fact that she had a new boyfriend in just five days was fishy to Satoshi. Sakura was generally a shy girl when it came to romantic relationships with the opposite sex. Heck, it took two weeks of relentless flirting for Satoshi to finally get a simple date with her and this other guy had already coined the term "boyfriend?!" It not only bothered him that Sakura was "off the market" so-to-speak, but it was a major blow to his pride that this guy had gotten so close to her so fast. The speed with which she had gotten over him was also a blow, but he was more fixated with this sudden new guy . . .

_Unless . . . _

He shook his head to banish the thought forming in his mind. He was almost tempted to think that Sakura was getting friendly with this other guy while he was still officially seeing her . . . He shook his head again. The very thought was ludicrous. Sakura wasn't the two-timing type. Still though the whole situation was very odd to say the least . . . His mind made up, he finally closed his flip phone and started rummaging through his desk looking for a specific piece of paper. It is common knowledge that men do stupid and irrational things when their pride is at stake.

Satoshi was no exception.

**xXxXxXx**

The majority of Christmas Eve day was spent wrapping presents and preparing the big Christmas dinner. Sonomi and Nadeshiko did most of the major preparations, but the others all helped out in little ways from helping with the side dishes and desserts, to getting enough chairs for everyone to sit on at the table. Masaki spent the day tending to the fire and working on crossword puzzles, his older age earning him the right to sit back and relax. Sakura had left the kitchen to refill his mug of cocoa. She was used to waiting on people since she worked in a restaurant after all.

"Here you go Grandpa."

He smiled fondly at his granddaughter. "Thank you Sakura, you treat your old Granddad so well."

"It's only because I love you so much!"

He chuckled and took a satisfying sip from the steaming mug. Eriol and Syaoran were bringing extra chairs in through the room on their way to the dinning room. Syaoran's eyes met Sakura's for a split second before she averted her gaze. She still felt embarrassed about interrupting him in the bathroom that morning and looking him straight in the eye like that was bound to tint her cheeks red. Syaoran frowned slightly at her odd behavior. He was getting the impression that she was avoiding him but he wasn't sure why.

_Did I do something to upset her?_

Looking at his cross word puzzle book, Masaki suddenly broke the silence when he said, "Hmmm . . . what's a seven letter word for higher education?"

Sakura pursed her lips in thought.

"College," Syaoran said from the dinning room next door.

Masaki filled it in.

"Look at that, a perfect fit. Thanks my boy!" he exclaimed with a nod at Syaoran. Then he leaned over and whispered to Sakura, "Smart as a whip that one, I really like him dear."

Sakura smiled sadly at her Grandfather's remark. He didn't notice but Tomoyo did as she set a fresh plate of Christmas cookies next to his mug of cocoa.

Casually she asked, "What's a four letter word for a fake event?"

"A hoax?" Syaoran answered unsurely.

She looked at Sakura as she said, "Bingo."

Masaki scanned his crossword puzzle for that blank.

"I don't see that one here Tomoyo, where is that?" he asked confused.

She didn't reply as she stared at her cousin. She wasn't trying to be mean or blow Sakura's cover but she really didn't think what Sakura was doing was fair to her parents or their Grandfather. They all really seemed to genuinely like Syaoran. Even Toya had been rather pleasant with the boy for the most part and that was rare when it came to Sakura's boyfriends. And Tomoyo was no fool. If there was anything she was better at than fashion it was reading people. Sakura and Syaoran's relationship might be a scam but the looks they gave each other when they thought no one was looking seemed to be far from emotionally fake. It wouldn't be such a big deal if they really did fall in love, in fact Tomoyo thought it would have been absolutely adorable, an odd start to a relationship, but adorable none-the-less. However Sakura had told Tomoyo that Syaoran was already engaged and even though he supposedly didn't love the girl, the arrangement was still there. Plus Sakura and Satoshi weren't exactly over from the way it sounded. And to top it all off, Syoaran was from a very affluent family and Tomoyo knew how those kinds of people could be having been raised around them her whole life due to her own family's wealth. From debutant balls to fancy business dinner parties, she'd met every kind of rich person and they were not Sakura's kind of people and vice versa. Of course Tomoyo wasn't the typical rich snot and maybe Syaoran was like her, but what about his family? True it was hard to find a person that didn't like Sakura but a family like Syaoran's would most likely value wealth and status over personality. In the end, she was just worried about her cousin. She was afraid she might be getting in over her head and she didn't want to see her end up heartbroken.

Masaki gave up searching for the word Tomoyo had made up and looked at the fireplace instead. The wood was almost burned up.

"Oh, the wood in the fire place is almost gone," he stated to no one in particular.

"Don't worry Grandpa I'll go get some more," Sakura announced quickly, desperate for any excuse to leave the tense atmosphere of the room.

She hurried over to the front door and slipped her coat and shoes on before she rushed out into the snow. Syaoran watched her go hesitantly.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura trudged through the shin deep snow dragging a sack with her. She went to the back porch to get more firewood but there wasn't any left. That meant she had to go to the wood shed to get more. The wood shed was at the end of the backyard next to a wooded area. Unfortunately the back yard was rather large so it was a bit of a hike to get it. Being in the mountains as it was, the cabin was situated on a rather large plot of land but when you reached the end of the back yard you really reached the end. The back yard stretched far out but it ended in a steep drop off. The wooded area and the shed where right at the edge. The walk wasn't such a big deal to Sakura though, she wanted some time alone and the crisp, winter air only helped to clear her muddled mind. She wasn't sure what her problem was. It was Christmas Eve, one more day and the holiday would be over with and she would actually have gotten away with Syaoran posing as her boyfriend and she never got away with anything! She should be excited about that. Her entire family was eating her relationship up, well except for Tomoyo of course but it was practically impossible to fool her. Everyone else had no idea though. Yet something didn't feel right. Things had almost been too easy . . . and Sakura had an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.

She finally reached the woodpile and started to toss some logs into the sack.

And then there was Syaoran. She knew they were supposed to go their separate ways after tomorrow but that thought was starting to make her sad. She was starting to enjoy his company. Despite the first impression she got of him he actually turned out to be a pretty decent guy. Even though he had been dragged there he never really complained about any of the things he had to do. He just grinned and bared it. And he couldn't have impressed her parents more. They were completely smitten with him.

_It's just too bad they're never going to see him again . . ._

She reached for another log and it rolled off the pile stopping a few feet away. Sakura sighed and walked to pick it up. She took three steps towards it and the ground crumbled underneath her; she'd stepped to close to the end of the yard. The snow had obscured the exact parameters of the cliff and she was now falling, surely to her doom. A startled scream broke forth from her throat and she lashed out with her hand in an effort to stop herself. Her hand didn't catch anything, but the sleeve of her coat did. She jerked to a stop, an exposed tree root having snagged her coat. Slowly she looked up to see how far she'd fallen. Thankfully it wasn't far; the top of the cliff was only about a few inches above her head. Trying not to panic she attempted to come up with a plan.

_If I could just climb back up this tree root . . ._

She reached up to grab it but inhaled sharply as her coat sleeve started to tear. She froze but it was too late, her sleeve finished ripping apart. She didn't scream; she didn't even have time to think, it all happened so fast. Before she could fall more than two inches something wrapped around her wrist interrupting her premature fatality. Still in shock she just hung there staring down the long drop.

"Sakura! Sakura are you okay?!"

She slowly looked up and saw Syaoran half hanging over the edge, his eyes heavy with worry. He was the one that had grabbed her wrist.

"Syaoran . . ." she breathed.

She was rather surprised to see him; she'd come out there alone. But now wasn't the time to think about that. He was here and was trying to save her life.

"Are you okay?!" he repeated since she still hadn't answered him.

"Yes, I'm okay! I was trying to get a log and got too close!"

"Try and grab my other hand!" he ordered as he swung it over the edge.

"Don't let me fall please!" she cried, the reality of her dire situation finally catching up with her.

"I won't just grab my other hand so I can pull you up!"

Tentatively she reached up and he took hold of her other hand as well. After a few minutes of intense labor Sakura was back on solid ground, panting, next to Syaoran. Once he'd caught his breath he grabbed Sakura and started to look her over.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked yet again.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," she held up her torn sleeve, "my coat is ruined but I'm fine."

Syaoran exhaled, clearly relieved.

"What are you doing out here Syaoran?"

"You were taking a long time so I thought maybe you needed some help carrying the wood back. I went to the back porch but when I realized you weren't there I started looking around the yard. Then I heard you scream and I rushed towards the sound and found you just in time," he revealed.

"Well it's a good thing you were nice enough to come help me with the wood otherwise I'd be a goner," she admitted. "Thank you for saving my life," she finished as she hugged him gratefully.

"I'm just glad I got to you in time, I was almost too late . . ." he trailed off as he returned her hug.

He felt her shiver in his arms; maybe from narrowly escaping death, maybe from sitting in the snow, he couldn't be sure.

"Come on, we should get back in the cabin," Syaoran said.

He stood up first then helped her to her feet.

"Alright, just let me get the wood sack."

She hurriedly tossed a few more logs into the bag making sure to stay far enough away from the edge. When she was done she walked back over to Syaoran. He took the heavy sack from her effortlessly and the pair headed back towards the cabin in relative silence. Finally, Syaoran broke it.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure."

"Are you mad at me?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "What? Why would I be mad at you?"

Syaoran shifted the wood sack to his other shoulder. "I don't know I just feel like you've been avoiding me since this morning . . ."

Sakura's face visibly reddened, the half-naked picture of Syaoran emerging in her mind again. She shook her head in hopes of banishing the unwanted blush before Syaoran could see it. She hadn't realized her feelings of embarrassment were giving Syaoran the impression that she was upset with him.

"No, I'm not mad at you. But I have been avoiding you."

"Why?"

"Well . . . you know . . . this morning . . . when I . . ."

"Walked in on me in the bathroom?" Syaoran finished for her in a jovial tone.

Sakura nodded, the red in her cheeks burning. "It was so embarrassing. I really am sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your private time-"

She stopped short when she heard Syaoran laughing next to her.

"Is that what this is all about? Sakura you're making a big deal out of nothing. I was just shaving and I had a towel around the vital points so it's not like you saw anything you wouldn't have seen if we were at a swimming pool," he reasoned.

"Yeah I guess . . ."

"It wasn't a big deal really. Just forget about it."

"Well okay, if you say so. I am sorry though."

"I know but there's really nothing to apologize for. No harm no foul."

Sakura smiled, relieved that Syaoran had such a carefree attitude about the bathroom incident.

"Besides," he went on, "I'd say you got a pretty good show out of it."

He pretended to flex his upper body in a cocky manner obviously teasing her.

"Knock it off," Sakura said as she shoved him, the smile on her face widening at his mock body building pose. Once they got back Syaoran tossed some logs on the dying fire while Sakura returned to the kitchen to help prepare the rest of the meal.

**xXxXxXx**

It was dinnertime and everyone was gathered around the dinning room table ready to feast. Sakura hadn't bothered to tell anyone what happened out in the backyard earlier that day. She was fine and the whole ordeal only lasted about five minutes when it was all said and done so there was no reason to upset her parents, especially on Christmas. The food laid out on the table looked delicious and the aromas the many dishes were giving off only reinforced that thought. Sakura brought out one more side dish and set it on the table before she took a seat next to Syaoran.

Syaoran leaned over to her. "This all looks really good."

Despite her attempts to stop it, her cheeks tinged red slightly at his open compliment. She was blushing way too much around him . . .

"Thank you but I didn't do that much . . ."

Fujitaka tapped his glass with a fork. The soft, tinkling noise flowed over the table bringing silence to the room. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"Thank you for your attention. I just wanted to say a few things before we partake of what I'm sure will be a filling and delicious meal." A bright smile appeared on his face as he continued. "Nothing makes me happier than to spend Christmas with my family and it has been a true treat to be able to also spend this holiday with those who might be part of the family in the near future," he said as he looked at Eriol then Nakuru and finally at Syaoran.

Sakura frowned at his words. He was definitely in for a rude awakening if he thought Syaoran would be back next Christmas . . .

"I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas so thank you so much everyone for coming, for being such enjoyable company, and for all your help and participation. Now, let's all eat this wonderful meal that's been prepared for us by five of the worlds greatest ladies!" he finished with a wink and a raise of his glass.

Nadeshiko covered her husband's hand with hers and smiled lovingly. He lifted her dainty hand to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. Sakura watched the small interaction that transpired between her parents wistfully. That was the kind of relationship she wanted to have, but why did it seem so hard to find?

**xXxXxXx**

After dinner was over, most of the family retired to the den. Sakura started to gather the dirty dishes to bring them into the kitchen.

"Here let me help you," Syaoran volunteered.

He picked up as many dishes as he could hold and together they headed for the kitchen with Tomoyo in tow carrying some other dishes. They deposited the plates into the sink where Sonomi and Nadeshiko were washing them.

"Thanks kids," Sonomi said as she squirted some extra soap onto the china.

They both gave a nod before heading back out the doorway to join the others in the den.

"Freeze!" Tomoyo screeched causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

"What's wrong Tomoyo?!" Nadeshiko asked, startled.

With a coy smile she pointed to the top of the door way above Sakura and Syaoran. There, hanging directly above their heads, was mistletoe. The pair stood there, gawking at the little plant.

Nadeshiko smiled widely. "Ooooo, someone's been caught underneath the mistletoe! You know what that means!" she squealed in excitement.

Sakura put her hands up in a defensives gesture. "Whoa, look we, uh, we really don't like PDA . . ."

Sonomi and Nadeshiko looked at Tomoyo for a translation.

"Public Display of Affection," she cleared up.

Nadeshiko waved her hand. "Oh poppycock, you've been caught under the mistletoe so you two better smooch."

"Yeah it's like Christmas law Sakura," Tomoyo teased.

Sakura glared. _Damn Tomoyo and her innate observation skills._

The three women stood there, watching the couple expectantly. Sakura looked at Syaoran helplessly.

"I'm so sorry about this," she whispered.

"Well? We're waiting," Tomoyo pressed. She was enjoying the look on her cousin's face; it was hard to keep from laughing out loud. She was still worried about her cousin getting in over her head but the idea of making them kiss under the mistletoe was too priceless to pass up!

"I guess we'd better not keep them waiting then," Syaoran said playfully.

He took a hold of Sakura and leaned down to meet her lips with his. It was a soft, simple kiss but the chemistry that flowed through it was nothing short of exhilarating. It felt like Syaoran was taking her breath away leaving her feeling light headed. Everything melted away for a few seconds leaving them in a world of their own. Caught up in the moment and the feel of Sakura's body up against his, Syaoran moved to deepen the kiss. Though it was pleasant, the feel of Syaoran's tongue gliding across hers startled her and she pulled away swiftly breaking the kiss. Sakura held a look of surprise on her face in contrast to the look on Syaoran's face. He looked like he was far from finished. Tomoyo raised an eyebrow, just how deep did that boy want the kiss to be? A quick peck would have sufficed in accordance with the rules of being under the mistletoe . . .

"Oh you two are so adorable!" Nadeshiko gushed.

Sakura blushed before stammering, "W-we're going t-to join everyone else in the d-den."

She grabbed Syaoran's arm and dragged him out of the room with her. Sakura turned to him once they were out of ear shot.

"Uh, that was some show you gave them in there," she said trying to sound casual.

"What? Oh, a show, right . . . Well I mean if we're going to do this we might as well do it right. Plus it's almost over so I figured we could really make an impression on your parents so they'll stay off your back for a while," Syaoran responded in an attempt to cover up his real intentions.

"Oh . . . well when you put it that way . . ." Sakura trailed off, not sure what else to say.

Syaoran took her hand and started leading her to the den. He looked calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside he was a whirl of confusion. He didn't know what had gotten into him. He told Sakura he was trying to put on a show but in truth he had forgotten the others were even in the room, he had been so wrapped up in the moment. If Sakura hadn't pulled away . . . well, he wasn't sure exactly what would have happened but he was fairly confident that things would have continued getting hotter . . . He took a deep breath to try and clear his head as well as his hormones. He wasn't sure what the deal was but he couldn't lose his cool. In the den, Masaki was reading "The Night before Christmas" out loud. The couple took a seat in front of the couch to listen to the rest of the story. In keeping with Syaoran's idea of "making an impression" Sakura cuddled up to him in a cozy manner and focused on enjoying the story. Syaoran wished he could do the same. The only thing he was focused on was Sakura sitting almost in his lap. He was in both heaven and hell simultaneously.

It was quite the paradox.

**xXxXxXx**

_**December 25**__**th**__**, Christmas Day . . . **_

Syaoran moaned as the early morning sunlight hit his face. He had trouble sleeping last night so sunlight was the last thing he wanted to see right then. Rolling away from the window he wrapped his arms around the curled up figure next to him and pulled her closer. Sakura snuggled deeper into his embrace, the warmth his body was giving off attracting her like a magnet. Sakura had never been a morning person, but the frigid morning air made it that much harder to leave the warm sanctity of the covers. The pair continued to sleep, spooning comfortably until an irritating beep shattered the silence. It was the alarm clock. Groaning, the couple started shifting in annoyance. Sakura finally reached over and, after a few swipes, she managed to hit the snooze button. Rolling over her eyes fluttered open and she found her self face to face with Syaoran, a sleepy look lingering in his half-lidded eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Syaoran spoke.

"Why is the alarm going off so early?"

"It's not that early it's 8:00."

"It's winter break, that's early," Syaoran argued.

"Well, it's Christmas morning and every year we get up and open presents then we have a big breakfast. Mom likes to have presents done by 9:30, 10 at the latest because she doesn't want us to eat breakfast at noon so I wanted to make sure I'd be awake enough to get out of bed by 8:30 to take a shower. Unlike you," she said tapping the tip of his nose with her finger, "I can't take a shower and be ready to go in ten minutes."

"Nah, you just woke up and you already look cute as can be."

He brushed her bangs away from her forehead adoringly but frowned when something caught his eye. Pushing her hair back a little further he noticed a fading purplish mark on her forehead near the roots of her bangs.

"What happened?" he asked.

"What? Oh that," Sakura commented as she touched the spot he was talking about, "That happened when we almost hit the deer."

The look on Syaoran's face told Sakura she needed to elaborate.

"When you yanked the steering wheel to avoid hitting that deer in the road my head knocked into the window from the force of the car swerving."

Syaoran thought back to that moment a few days ago and realized that after they exited the car Sakura had been holding her head. At the time, he was so busy being pissed off that she not only dragged him with but that they almost got in an accident, he hadn't bothered to pay attention to that detail. He felt guilty now.

"It wasn't that bad though. I mean it looked worse than it felt and now it's almost completely gone," Sakura continued, unaware of the thoughts running through Syaoran's mind.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you'd gotten hurt . . ."

"It's okay, really. You had to do it or we would have hit that deer and been in a lot worse shape. Plus we would have hurt the deer and that would have been just awful," Sakura frowned at the thought.

Syaoran smiled warmly. She got hurt and yet here she was more upset about the prospect of the deer getting hurt instead. She was probably the most kindhearted individual he'd ever met.

He lightly trailed his finger down the side of her cheek. "You're something else you know that?"

His eyes were transfixed on her pink lips, the ones that had tasted so sweet the night before. Ever so slowly he started to lean towards her, intent on tasting them again. Right before he could, the alarm clock sounded again. Sakura immediately rolled over to shut it off and Syaoran found himself smooching with her pillow instead.

"Dang it's already 8:15, I really need to get in the shower," she said as she threw the covers off and headed for the bathroom, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Syaoran was attempting to kiss her again.

Syaoran watched her go. Once the bathroom door was closed he dropped back on the bed with a frustrated grunt and pulled the covers over his face. What the hell was he thinking? Their relationship was a farce! So why was he dying to kiss her again so damn badly??

**xXxXxXx**

Around 9:15 everybody pilled into the den and gathered near the Christmas tree. There were presents spilling out from underneath it just begging to be torn open. Everyone took a seat while Fujitaka and Nadeshiko started to hand them out one by one to the owners. Once they were all passed out everyone started to open their gifts.

"Toya, oh Toya open mine first! Please!?!" Nakuru begged.

"Okay, okay sheesh."

He ripped off the green wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside, lying on a bed of red tissue paper was a soccer jersey. The name Nakayama was on the back above the number 9. Toya was speechless. He held it up and looked it over.

"Do you like it?"

Toya looked at his girlfriend incredulously. "Are you kidding?! Nakayama Masashi is my favorite soccer player! Of course I like it!"

Nakuru did a rapid, happy clap before Toya kissed her sweetly. Once he let her go she started opening her own gifts. She picked a big box with green and red plaid wrapping paper. She lifted the lid off the box and did her best to keep a smile plastered to her face. She lifted out a shapeless, red dress adorned with many layers of lace and frill. It was an exact replica of the dresses Tomoyo and Sakura had on the day they all arrived. Masaki hadn't been kidding when he said he'd get her one. She looked at him and smiled politely.

"Thank you," she said through her fake smile. "It's, uh . . . it's lovely."

"You're welcome dear-heart. I can't wait to see you in it next year!"

"Neither can I," Toya snickered earning him a shove.

The present opening continued for a while. The kids got mostly clothes from the elders. Syaoran was surprised by the amount of gifts he received, after all he hadn't been expecting much. Sakura's parents took the liberty of getting him many articles of clothing and even a pair of ice skates so Sakura could teach him how to skate better for next year. Eriol received a book from Tomoyo and she received a jewelry box from him. Nakuru got a fancy bottle of expensive perfume from Toya that she had been wanting forever. Syaoran and Sakura saved each others gifts for last.

Sakura handed him a box. "Here, Merry Christmas."

He opened it and smiled warmly at its contents. There was a gold star tree topper similar to the one he had put on their Christmas tree along with a foldable picture frame. There were two pictures in it. One was of him putting the star on top of the tree and the other was of the entire family standing in front of the decorated tree after it was finished. He remembered taking that one but he didn't know a picture was taken of him putting the star up.

"Tomoyo took that one," Sakura said reading his mind.

He touched the star and she continued, "Since this was the first Christmas you decorated for, I thought you might like to have a star tree topper so if you ever wanted to decorate your own tree you'd have a star to put on top. And I thought you might like a couple pictures to remember this Christmas even if you were here for a weird reason. After all you told me this was one of the best Christmases you ever had."

Syaoran remained silent, staring at the objects in the box. He didn't know what to say, the gifts were so simple yet so heartfelt. They didn't seem like much but he loved them. They were perfect. Sakura took his silence for dislike.

"I'm sorry I guess they're lame presents-"

"No, they aren't. They're great, honest. I couldn't have asked for something better."

He set the box down and held out a very tiny box wrapped in gold foil.

"This is for you."

She took the small present in her hands and opened it. She gasped as she lifted out the contents. Inside was a short, silver chain. Dangling from the chain was a tiny, silver snowflake studded with little white and blue gems that alternated all the way around it. She looked at Syaoran in surprise.

"We were supposed to get each other something small."

"That is small," he teased.

"You know what I mean Syaoran. This had to have cost a fortune."

"Sakura my family is rather wealthy. Trust me it wasn't expensive by our standards," he took the necklace from her hands and moved to place it on her. "Besides, you said you liked the snow and I thought this would look beautiful on you," he finished as he fastened the clasp around her neck.

She fingered the necklace in admiration. It was a gorgeous piece of jewelry. Not too flashy but not boring either. It was just right for her. She let it rest elegantly on the high part of her chest as she looked at Syaoran.

"Thank you. You really didn't have to though."

"I wanted to. Think of it as a thank you for giving me the chance to experience such a wonderful family Christmas."

She smiled. No guy had ever made her feel quite as pretty and special as Syaoran did. It was a nice feeling she didn't want to lose. She hugged Syaoran tightly and he returned her hug happily. A sudden knock at the door caught everyone's attention. Sakura and Syaoran broke their embrace.

"Who on earth could that be on Christmas morning all the way out here?" Nadeshiko inquired.

"I'll get it," Sakura volunteered.

She got up and headed over to the door smiling brightly. Upon opening the door her smile vanished completely, the color draining from her face. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Her jaw moved up and down in an attempt to form words but no sound came from her mouth. Finally she was able to force one word out through her shock.

"Satoshi?!"

_**End chapter 5.**_

**A/N:** Okay so, Satoshi has emerged in the picture! This could really complicate things for Sakura and Syaoran huh? I wasn't originally planning to have him show up at the cabin but back in chapter two Kai-Crescent-Moon reviewed and commented that it would be funny if Satoshi came after all and well I have to say I agree. I thought about it though and couldn't think of a way to work it into the story with the way I originally planned to end it, but I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. So I decided to go a slightly different way, partly because I was afraid that the way I originally wanted to end it would take too long and I'd like to wrap this up sooner than later (and I promised it'd be a shorter story), especially since Christmas is over now, plus I just really liked Kai-Crescent-Moon's idea :) I know I responded to your review Kai and told you I couldn't think of how to work it in and all but I guess I lied lol Sorry! I hope you are still reading though and that you like that I had him show up after all. I'm still looking to wrap this up in the next two chapters so here's hoping. I do have projects already starting for my classes (among other projects I'll mention at a later date) and I have to spend 10 hours a week at my university's IR dept. for an internship, blah. On a final note, Masashi Nakayama is a real Japanese soccer player and his number is 9 from what I gathered on the internet. Well that's all, I promise to really try and get the next chapter out faster than I got this one out. Again I really am sorry for the wait :( Thanks for all the reviews and support though, I really do appreciate it :) I never thought I'd reach 60 good reviews in only 4 chapters! Please keep'em comin' it's so motivational!

_SakuraJade_


	6. An Unexpected Guest

**A/N: **Hey everyone I'm sorry this wasn't posted sooner, really, but I hope it was worth the wait. A lot's been happening so if you're really interested in the delays occurring with this story check out the author's note at the bottom. That will explain everything. It's kind of long though so I didn't want to post it at the top. Anyway here's the next chapter, please remember to review! So many of them have been so good, really! Also comments and suggestions about the direction of the plot are welcome, taken into account, and often times used lol I'm looking to wrap this sucker up soon but I'm still working on an ending so if ya got ideas let me hear them!

Disclaimer: "I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, CLAMP does, and ABC Family owns Holiday in Handcuffs."

_Reference_ _note:_ For anyone who doesn't know core is short for "core curriculum", they are the classes all students have to take regardless of their major. They are the classes that make you a "well rounded student" or some kind of crap like that. Depending on the college they are called core classes or gen. ed. classes (short for general education). I just wanted to clear that up since it's mentioned later in this chapter. I'm not sure if Japanese universities have core but they are bound to have something like it. Also the car and car company mentioned are fictitious.

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 6: An Unexpected Guest_

Sakura's face was a ghastly ashen color as she stared at the person on the porch. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Sakura . . ." Satoshi finally breathed out. She looked amazing. He noticed that here hair was different and it looked great. She was even prettier than the last time he saw her.

"Sakura, who's at the door?" her father asked.

Syaoran didn't like the look on Sakura's face. She looked like she was going to be sick . . .

"Sakura, don't leave our guest outside on Christmas morning!" Nadeshiko scolded. "Invite him in already!"

Sakura stepped aside meekly and let the boy in. Syaoran eyed him suspiciously. He looked the same age as him and was about the same height too. He had short, wavy hair the color of sand and deep cerulean eyes which were staring intently at Sakura, much to Syaoran's annoyance. He quickly strode over to the pair to find out just what was going on. He placed his hand on Sakura's shoulder to get her attention and she jumped at the contact. He looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, Syaoran this is Satoshi."

At the name Syaoran's eyes widened. On the other side of the room Tomoyo's mirrored his. She knew this was a problem. What on Earth was Satoshi doing at the cabin?! She also couldn't help wondering how Syaoran was going to handle this. Things were definitely about to get more interesting . . .

"I'm sorry I showed up without any warning but I just had to see you," Satoshi said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Syaoran wanted to grab a handful of Satoshi's wavy, blonde hair and yank him away from Sakura but he refrained from acting on his feelings. He had to keep his cool; he wouldn't let this guy get the better of him. Toya wasn't sure what was going on or who this new guy was but he had a feeling something wasn't right.

Looking at Syaoran he smirked, "Doesn't it bother you that some other guy is all over your girlfriend?"

"It would," Syaoran said casually, a deviant smile spreading across his face, "if he wasn't gay."

Sakura's eyes bulged out while Satoshi's flared in anger at Syaoran's remark. He most certainly was not gay!

"Well that makes sense," Nakuru admitted, taking Syaoran's statement to be the truth.

"Excuse me but I am NOT ga-"

"Satoshi!" Sakura shouted, cutting him off. "Let's, uh, step outside for a sec. I need to talk to you."

She didn't wait for him to respond as she started to push him out the front door.

"We'll be right back," she called over her shoulder to her curious family.

Syaoran followed after the pair and shut the door behind them. Once the trio was out of ear shot Sakura took a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves. Then she fixed Satoshi with a disapproving look.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" she finally yelled out.

"What do you mean?! You asked me to come!" Satoshi shouted back in irritation.

"Yeah last week and six days ago you told me you weren't coming! How did you even know where this place was?"

He shrugged. "I still had the directions you gave me in my backpack."

"But why did you decide to just show up now?" she asked exasperatedly. He was ruining everything!

"Well I wasn't planning on coming but when I called your phone yesterday to wish you a Merry Christmas some guy answered claiming to be your boyfriend and I just had to come find out what the hell was going on!" he explained.

Sakura let Satoshi's words sink in for a second then she rounded on Syaoran and smacked him in the arm.

"Satoshi called and you didn't tell me?!"

"Uh . . ."

"Sakura what's going on?" Satoshi asked forcing her to focus on him again. "How could you have a new boyfriend, we're not even broken up!"

"Maybe not but you're the one who wanted to take a break and that means we BOTH can see other people," she argued back.

"Yeah but going steady with someone else? And how can you have a new boyfriend already anyway?! We only went on this break six days ago! It took me weeks to get a single date with you!"

"Well what does that say about you?" Syaoran chimed in with a smug attitude.

Before Satoshi could argue back Sakura spoke.

"Please Syaoran, you're not helping," she sighed. They were like children stuck in the bodies of college students.

"Were you getting with this guy while we were still going steady?" Satoshi suddenly asked suspiciously.

"What?! No!" Sakura cried appalled. She'd never even think of doing something like that. "You know I'm not like that Satoshi!"

"Well I didn't think so but then what's going on?!" he demanded an answer.

Sakura put a hand to her forehead. What a mess! Satoshi showing up randomly was definitely not part of the plan! She was so close to getting away with her family believing Syaoran was her boyfriend too. And Satoshi was never supposed to know about this anyway whether they got back together or not. Either way she had to explain everything to him now that he was here.

"Look, Syaoran isn't really my boyfriend. In fact, I just met him right before coming here. It's a long story but he came with me to posse as my boyfriend so my parents wouldn't get on my case again this year about not being in a serious relationship."

Satoshi stared at the pair dubiously. "You're kidding right?"

Sakura simply shook her head.

"But that's crazy!"

"Yeah well I wouldn't have had to do this if you would have just come here with me in the first place!" Sakura glared.

Satoshi put his hands up in defense.

"I'm sorry but I'm here now," he said trying to make amends.

"Yeah just in time to ruin everything," Syaoran replied haughtily. "It's too late for you to be her boyfriend because her family already thinks I am."

"He's right Satoshi," Sakura said before he could argue with Syaoran about it. "For now you'll just have to pose as a friend of mine from college."

"Gay friend," Syaoran corrected with a smirk.

Sakura sighed. "Right my gay friend since they all think you're . . . well . . . gay."

Satoshi growled under his breath. This was unbelievable. He didn't know what he was going to find when he hopped in his car early this morning and drove to the cabin but he certainly didn't expect the story Sakura told him or that he would be stuck pretending to be her gay college friend.

"You can't be serious."

"Please Satoshi, if you care about me at all then do it. It will only be until tomorrow afternoon when we leave," Sakura pleaded.

"But what about us? When we get back together what are your parents going to say?! They think I'm gay," he said, gritting his teeth on the last sentence.

Satoshi had a point. It would look awfully strange if she started dating a gay guy . . . But there was nothing that could be done about that now. If her family found out about her lie it'd be a major faux pas. They could do this, today was the last day! Syaoran snorted. 'When' he and Sakura get back together? What made him so sure she would want to continue their relationship?

_He's not just a jerk he's arrogant too. What a winning combination,_ Syaoran thought to himself. _What the heck did Sakura ever seen in him to begin with?_

He took a good look at the new guy. _I guess he's good looking, _Syaoran admitted begrudgingly. Still Sakura wasn't the shallow type who dated guys based on their looks alone, that he was certain of.

With a sympathetic look directed at Satoshi, Sakura said, "I know but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it."

Syaoran frowned at her words. 'If' they come to it? Was Sakura seriously thinking of getting back together with this guy?

Sakura continued, "Maybe we can tell them that you've discovered you're bi, I don't know, we'll worry about that later. Right now we have to get back inside and tell my family something. You two let me do the talking," she ordered sharply and shot Syaoran a look warning him not to pull another stunt like the one he did earlier.

She marched back into the house determined to make this work. The boys shared a heated glare that made their new rivalry obvious before they followed after their "girlfriend." As soon as the trio reentered the house Nadeshiko spoke.

"Sakura what's going on?"

Taking a deep breath she answered, "Everyone this is my friend Satoshi," he gave a wave, "he goes to Kiyoshi University with Syaoran and me, although Syaoran's never had a chance to meet him until now. I had invited him to spend Christmas with us because he had no plans of his own at first but then he did have plans so he declined. However as it would turn out his plans for Christmas Day fell through so he decided to take me up on my offer after all. I hope you don't mind."

Nadeshiko smiled brightly at their new guest. Sakura's story made enough sense to her. Tomoyo smacked her forehead. She couldn't believe that Sakura was going to keep this charade up.

"Well of course we don't mind! It's Christmas, the more the merrier! Go ahead and take your coat off, we were just getting ready to eat our big Christmas morning breakfast," Nadeshiko said warmly.

The show being over and the story behind the mystery guest revealed the rest of the family headed for the den to watch t.v. while Sonomi and Nadeshiko headed for the kitchen to prepare the traditional breakfast. Sakura took Satoshi's coat and walked over to the closet leaving the two boys alone for a minute. Syaoran moved to join the others in the den but Satoshi blocked his path. Syaoran raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"You sure have a lot of nerve the way you lied to me on the phone yesterday," he said in a low, even voice.

Syaoran smirked. He would not be easily intimidated by this guy.

"On the contrary, I think you got what you had coming to you," he narrowed his eyes, "You don't deserve her."

"Say what you want," Satoshi growled through clenched teeth. "You're just playing her boyfriend here but I actually get to be her boyfriend once we leave."

"Well see about that."

Syaoran brushed past Satoshi ramming his shoulder into the other guy's on purpose as he went. Satoshi let out a grunt but held his ground. He would get Sakura back no matter what the cost. His pride was on the line, this guy challenged him and he wasn't about to back down.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran gritted his teeth and seethed silently in his chair as the family finished their Christmas breakfast. Satoshi had only arrived at the cabin two hours ago and already he was irritating Syaoran to no end.

_At least he didn't show up sooner . . . _

Syaoran didn't think he would have been able to stand spending more than a day in the same house as this guy. The whole morning and all through breakfast Satoshi was sucking up to Sakura's family trying to make a good impression and it was agitating him immensely.

"Man I'm full. That was delicious ma'am," Satoshi said smiling gratefully at Sakura's mother.

"Oh why thank you dear," Nadeshiko replied with a friendly smile.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. She could tell Satoshi was a total suck up . . . She got the impression that he was treating this more as a personal competition between himself and Syaoran and she was not happy about that. After all, this wasn't some game show it was Sakura's life. She glanced at her cousin. She had an apprehensive look on her face as she stared at her almost untouched breakfast. A look of sympathy flittered onto Tomoyo's face. She knew Sakura didn't plan for things to get so twisted.

"Sakura you've hardly touched your food, "Nakuru suddenly pointed out.

Nadeshiko glanced at Sakura's plate.

"Nakuru is right you haven't eaten a bite of your breakfast. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing I'm just not that hungry . . ."

"Well eat up," Nadeshiko pressed, "you're already skinny enough as it is. We can't have you wasting away to nothing."

Sakura flushed at her mother's comment. She picked up her fork but ended up just poking at her waffles instead of eating them.

"Forgive me for being so bold Mrs. Kinomoto, but your daughter is gorgeous and I can see where she gets it from," Satoshi cooed.

Sakura blushed at Satoshi's words while Syaoran glared fiercely at the new guest. The grip he had on his fork was so tight he ended up bending it almost completely in half. The scowl on his face deepened at his now unusable fork. He quickly bent it back hoping no one saw it.

"Nadeshiko smiled, flattered at his open complement. "Yes, you're right, she must be gorgeous or she wouldn't have been able to snag such an amazing boyfriend."

"Thank you," both Syaoran and Satoshi said simultaneously.

Everyone at the table looked from one boy to the other questioningly. Sakura sunk down in her chair, afraid of what would happen next. Suddenly Tomoyo erupted with laughter.

"Wow Sakura you're friend is so funny! He really had me going for a second!" she exclaimed between fake laughter. "Well he is your boy friend just not your boyfriend and he's good looking and good looking people like to stick together so in a sense Sakura must be good looking!" she rambled on trying to turn Satoshi's blunder into a joke.

Nadeshiko started laughing light heartedly. "I wonder how you managed to fall in with two students at your university who have such a good sense of humor Sakura."

"Just lucky I guess," Sakura sweat dropped. She pushed her torn up but uneaten waffles away. She definitely had no appetite now.

"Anyway as I was saying, "Nadeshiko began, "Sakura must be pretty since she snagged a cutie like Syaoran!" She flashed the amber-eyed boy a motherly smile.

Satoshi frowned and Syaoran felt a triumphant grin spread across his face in response.

Once breakfast was officially over everyone left the table to go do their own thing. Satoshi stayed behind to help clean up, another attempt to get in good with Sakura's parents. Sakura saw Tomoyo carrying her presents up the stairs to her room and caught up to her.

"Tomoyo thank you so much for what you did back in the dinning room."

Tomoyo waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, although I wish I hadn't sounded like such a crazy lady rambling on like that."

Sakura let out a small giggle before sighing heavily.

"Boy things really got screwed up."

"Yeah, you pretty much went from the frying pan and into the fire," Tomoyo said quietly.

"Tomoyo what am I going to do? I was so disappointed when Satoshi declined to come here and now he's showed up and he's the last person I want to see," Sakura whined. "I don't think my feelings for him are the same as they were before we started winter break . . ."

Sakura bit her lip in thought, "He's just not . . ."

"Syaoran?" Tomoyo asked slyly.

Sakura's face burned violently. "T-Tomoyo!!"

"What?" the fair-skinned beauty asked innocently. "Am I wrong?"

"No-I mean yes! I don't know," Sakura hung her head dejectedly.

Her cousin smiled warmly as she rested her hand on her shoulder.

"I think deep down you do."

Tomoyo finished ascending the staircase. Sakura groaned and made her own way upstairs to put her presents away.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura dropped down on the bed after she packed her presents away. She needed to collect her thoughts before going back downstairs. The door swung open and Syaoran came in carrying his gifts. Sakura watched him for a second before laying her head back on the bed, eyes closed. She felt the bed sink in slightly and knew Syaoran had joined her on the bed even though she didn't see it. She turned her head and glanced at him. He was laying on his back staring at the chalk, white ceiling. She averted her gaze back to the ceiling as well.

"So," Syaoran suddenly spoke, "some morning huh?"

Yep, some morning."

Silence descended upon the pair again. Finally Syaoran sighed.

"I'm sorry. You know, for not telling you Satoshi called. If I hadn't provoked him he might not have come . . ." he trailed off unsurely.

"It's okay, I forgive you. Being mad at you won't fix anything," she said emotionlessly.

When she didn't say anything more he continued.

"Well I was just trying to pay him back for being a jerk."

"Why, because his decline to come here for Christmas resulted in you having to come in his place?" she asked with a slight bite to her voice.

Syaoran sat up and looked at her seriously.

"Of course not, it's because he was such a crappy boyfriend to you."

Sakura smiled softly at the boy sitting next to her.

"That's sweet of you Syaoran."

Syaoran smiled in return before he fell back on the bed. Thinking of why Syaoran was even there set Sakura wondering again about the phone call she stumbled upon five days ago. She still didn't know what was being talked about; just that it wasn't something good for the Li family company. She tried to let it go, it really wasn't any of her business and she got what she wanted out of it, Syaoran came and posed as her boyfriend. Still she was very curious to know what was so important that he was willing to sacrifice his Christmas to keep it under wraps. She'd been dying to ask him and now seemed as good a time as any.

"Hey Syaoran, can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Uh, yeah I guess," he answered.

She propped herself upon her elbow and looked down at him.

"That conversation I accidentally over heard back at school . . . what was it about? I won't say anything to anybody I promise, you've fulfilled your end of the bargain. I'm just so curious to know."

Syaoran let out a small chuckle, the face Sakura was making was too silly not to. He could tell her curiosity was eating away at her. Syaoran decided to tell her. He wasn't happy about the topic they were going to discuss, but maybe talking about this to someone else would help. And who better to confide in than Sakura since she already knew something was up with Li Corp. He took a deep breath and sat up. Sakura followed suit to give him her full attention.

"Last year," he began, "my family's company helped jointly fund the creation and release of a new car, the Kunio Bluestreak. Well, before the car was actually released, our research team discovered that for some reason the driver side air bag was not deploying correctly in the event of a crash. They needed more time to fix it but delaying the release date meant losing money so . . ."

"So they released it anyway," Sakura finished for him in a whisper.

Syaoran nodded.

"Yeah and as the name suggests it's a sporty car so the people who drive it tend to speed around in it and that likely leads to accidents. And since the air bags aren't deploying properly in the event of a crash, the injuries people are sustaining are more severe and higher in number than they would normally be along with the death toll," he finished with a disheartened sigh.

"Oh, wow . . . that . . . that's terrible! How could they even think about releasing that car?!" Sakura cried feeling slightly nauseous from the story Syaoran just told her.

"Well at this point what they were thinking is irrelevant, the car has already been put on the market and the damage is done. What they need to do is publicly apologize, pull the car off the market, and compensate the families that have been affected by this. But that will cost even more money than if they had just delayed its release and worked on fixing the air bag issue in the first place."

"Well that's too bad!" Sakura exclaimed. "It's their responsibility!"

"I know that's why I was arguing with Ishiyama on the phone. He's the one in charge of the lawsuits being filed against Li Corp. concerning the Bluestreak. We could totally afford to fork over the money being asked for but instead they are trying to weasel out of it by having the PR (public relations) department put full blame on Kunio Ltd. and by denying they had anything to do with it, including going as far as doctoring legal documents and forging others which, of course, is illegal."

"Syaoran you have to do something, what Li Corp. is doing is wrong," Sakura said earnestly.

"I've been trying to but nobody listens to me and I don't really have any power yet. Like I told your family I'm on the board of directors but it's more for experience than anything. I'm just there to learn, not exercise any real power within the company," he replied.

"But you're set to inherit the company. Surely you can do something."

"I don't know . . . I've tried-"

"Try harder," Sakura urged. She didn't know why, but she believed in him. It was like she knew he could do it.

Syaoran felt renewed vigor at her words. He didn't know why, but he found a sort of strength in them.

"You're right I'm not giving up on this. When I get back to the office I'm going to find a way to fix this, even if I have to threaten to rat them out myself. What can they do to me? I don't work for them, it's my family's company so technically they work for me even if I haven't inherited the company yet," Syaoran stated boldly.

Sakura smiled and she held up her pinky finger.

"Promise?"

He looked at her then at her outstretched pinky. It was a childish move but he'd come to realize over his stay at the cabin that that, along with her kind heartedness, was part of Sakura's charm. It was also a big part of why he was starting to feel so strongly for her. A small smile spread across his lips as he linked his pinky with hers.

"I promise."

Sakura stared at their intertwined pinky fingers before looking back up at Syaoran's face. The minute she did her eyes locked with his and she felt her heartbeat speed up considerably. He looked like he wanted to say more to her.

"Sakura, I-"

Suddenly the door flew open and both pairs of eyes darted to it in response. There in the doorway holding Sakura's coat was Tomoyo. She looked surprised to see them.

"Oh, sorry I didn't know you guys were in here. I re-stitched your torn coat sleeve Sakura so I was just going to drop it off." Tomoyo spied their linked pinkies. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked with her eye brows raised.

The duo dropped their hands immediately and shuffled further apart, both slightly red in the face.

"No, we were just talking," Sakura said meekly.

"Sure," Tomoyo responded clearly not convinced.

She walked further into the room and hung Sakura's coat from the closet doorknob.

"Well I'll just let you get back to whatever you were doing," she said teasingly as she headed out the door.

"Tomoyo it's not like that!" Sakura yelled after her.

She threw a pillow at the closing door when she heard Tomoyo giggle. Syaoran just chuckled at her antics. Once it was clear that Tomoyo was not returning Syaoran cleared his throat.

"Uh Sakura, can I ask you something personal now?" he asked uncertainly.

She nodded her head. "Sure, you answered my question. What do you want to know?"

"Why did you date Satoshi?"

Sakura looked down at the comforter suddenly finding the pattern very interesting.

Syoaran continued. "I mean he just doesn't seem like your type."

Sakura raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Oh? And how would you know what my type of guys is huh?"

He looked away to hide the faint blush covering his cheeks.

"I know we haven't known each other long but we've been together almost constantly for the last five days and from what I have gotten to know of you he just doesn't strike me as your kind of guy that's all." Finally getting his blush under control Syaoran looked back at her. "How'd you even meet him?"

"Well, he was in my history class this past semester, you know, one of the huge lecture ones with about 150 students in it because it's required for core. By chance we sat next to each other and after a week or so we started talking. After a few more weeks he started asking me out on dates and eventually I accepted and let him take me out."

Sakura sighed as she thought back to the way Satoshi was when they first started dating.

"We went out a few times and it was great. I really had a good time with him, he treated me really well. But after we had been going steady for a while he seemed to lose interested in our relationship. I'm not sure why but it seemed like a classic case of not wanting to be tied down to me. Typical male behavior," Sakura snorted in displeasure. "Then when winter break was ready to start he suggested a break. I was surprised but at the same time I wasn't because of the way he had been acting all month. I think in the end he liked the thrill of pursuing me more than actually being with me," she finished with a sad tone.

After Sakura's story Syaoran found himself disliking Satoshi even more.

"Well it's his loss, you don't need someone like him in your life. Besides, you can do way better than him," Syaoran stated confidently.

Sakura smiled slightly. "Oh yeah? You got someone in mind?" she asked playfully.

_Yeah me._

Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise at the thought that instantly sped through his mind. Sakura looked at him uncertainly.

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "N-nothing. So are you going to get back together with Satoshi?" he asked trying to ignore the random thought from his brain.

Sakura reminded quiet for a while before she simply said, "I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do yet."

Before Syaoran could reply, his cell phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the name on the front. It was his fiancée. He knew he should take the call since he never knew when his phone would have reception.

"I'll let you get that," Sakura said as if reading his mind. She got up from the bed and let herself out of the room after tossing the pillow she had thrown at Tomoyo back on the bed.

Syaoran flipped his phone open once she was gone.

"Hello?" he said.

"Merry Christmas Syaoran!"

"Merry Christmas Meilin," he responded automatically. "Sorry about our last phone call, but I don't get good reception where I'm at and I could lose you again this time just so you know."

"I understand. How's your business trip coming?"

"Its okay, my business is almost done so I'll be coming home tomorrow evening."

Meilin frowned on the other end of the phone. "You don't sound happy that your business is almost over."

_That's because I'm not. Once my "business" is over that means I don't get to spend time with Sakura anymore . . . _

When he didn't say anything Meilin continued. "I know you have a lot of responsibilities Syaoran but I really am disappointed we didn't get to spend Christmas together this year," she pouted.

"Yeah I know you are, I'm sorry but I just couldn't get out of this."

He did feel bad for Meilin. Even though he wasn't in love with her he still considered her one of his oldest and closest friends since he had known her for ages so he hated to let her down and he knew how much she loved to spend the holidays with him.

"It's okay. There'll be many more Christmases for us to spend together since we'll be married someday," she said cheerfully trying to brighten the mood.

Syaoran ran a hand through his unruly chestnut hair.

"Yeah about that . . . Meilin, we need to talk."

"Okay so talk."

"This isn't the kind of thing to discuss over the phone. We'll talk when I come back okay?"

"Um, okay then," she said slowly not sure what to think about Syaoran's weird behavior.

"I have to get back to work, but you enjoy the rest of your Christmas okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah, you will. Bye Meilin."

He pulled the phone from his ear and flipped it shut before he flopped back down on the bed covering his face with his arms. He was not looking forward to what he was going to say to Meilin tomorrow but it needed to be said. He just couldn't stay engaged to her anymore . . . not when Sakura was the only girl on his mind.

_**End chapter 6.**_

**A/N:** So once again I'm really sorry for the delay. I've really been trying to get it done but I've been slammed with a lot of stupid projects that I really needed to get working on and stuff plus I found out two weeks ago that my dad has stage 4 cancer and it's terminal . . . So yeah thinks haven't been too hot for my family right now (actually things haven't been good since Oct when my cousin and my dad's twin brother suddenly died. My Guinea Pig Ryo-Oki actually died that month too but at least she died from old age, she was almost 9.). He's got it, like, everywhere but what makes it terminal is that it's in the bones in his right shoulder. Once it gets there they can't cure it. He will die from this, however they want to do chemotherapy because they think that it can kill the cancer in the other areas and halt the progress of the bone cancer for a while resulting in him living longer. How long they obviously can't say but anything's better than nothing right? He already started chemo 2 days ago so we'll see how it goes. It really all comes down to how his body responds. As for me, well, I'm probably handling it best. I'm torn between being sad my dad is dying and being indifferent. I know that sounds heartless but really it stems from the crappy father my dad was. He gave us lots of stuff, an in ground pool, a hot tub, a big screen tv, a Firebird to drive, etc. all that's nice, but there's more to being a father than providing for your kids and giving them material goods and he just never saw it that way. It's a shame but that's how it is.

Anyway I've been on the phone a lot with my younger brother and my mom and I went home last weekend to see my dad and to help my mom around the house since she's been at the hospital most of the time and thus not able to get any work done or run errands (also when I went home I was petting the cat that I've had since I was in 3rd grade and I found a lump in his throat so now I'm worried something is wrong with him. I'm very attached to him since I've had him since I was 8). And needless to say I just didn't have time to get this typed up and uploaded until now. Don't worry though, regardless of my father's condition I will continue to work on my fanfics, they're really important to me! But because I have to split my time to help my family and do my school work updates will probably not be as often as they usually are, although I'm hoping to keep them to no longer than a month between updates hopefully, although this one already passed a month by a few days :( We'll see how it goes. Hopefully my dad can hang in there, I mean I do still love him, after all he is my father, but all we can do is pray and see how things turn out. Anyway that's all I have to say, sorry for the long author's note, I just wanted to let my devoted readers know what exactly is going on. See you all in the next chapter which I hope will be up soon :)

_SakuraJade_


	7. A Shocking Revelation

**A/N: **Okay here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! Sorry I didn't get this posted in March like I wanted to but you all know how it goes. Thank you everyone who has given their condolences for my father's illness. I'm still handling it okay and the rest of the family is learning to cope with it, including my father himself (although he's definitely got a ways to go still). For those interested the doctors say the chemo seems to be working, his white blood cell count is up, the tumors are shrinking, and they have him on a bone strengthener that's helping to halt the cancer in his shoulder bones so that's very positive news. Now if he'd just keep a positive frame of mind he'd be set . . .

Disclaimer: "Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Holiday in Handcuffs belongs to ABC Family. I made up Satoshi so I guess he belongs to me but there's not much to him lol"

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

( means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 7: A Shocking Revelation _

Sakura could not relax.

The entire family was spending some quality time together watching Christmas movies and eating some of the left over Christmas cookies for their last day together. Currently a subtitled version of "I'll be Home for Christmas" with Jonathan Taylor Thomas was on the t.v. Watching movies with the family wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that she was sandwiched between her ex-boyfriend and her fake boyfriend. Well, Satoshi wasn't her ex-boyfriend per se, but he was pretty close. Either way, it was dreadfully uncomfortable having him on one side and Syaoran on the other. She could feel the tension practically swallowing her. The day couldn't be moving any slower.

"Jonathan Taylor Thomas is such a cutie!" Nakuru squealed suddenly.

Toya shot her a look.

"Well he is . . ."

Syaoran smirked. "What'd you think Satoshi?"

"What?! Why the hell would I care what-"

Sakura elbowed him in the side.

"I mean, yeah, he's a real hottie," Satoshi deadpanned as he glared at Syaoran.

Sakura sighed. She could hear Syaoran snickering on her right and Satoshi growling under his breath on her left. Dying to take a breather, Sakura stood up.

"I'm going to go get something to drink. I'll be right back."

"Hey Squirt bring me a glass of milk!" Toya called after her.

"Fine," she replied through clenched teeth.

Shortly after Sakura was gone Satoshi got to his feet.

"Where's the restroom?"

Tomoyo pointed out the doorway. "It's down the hall on the left."

"Thanks."

He left the room and the rest of the family continued on with the movie. After a few minutes Toya started to whine.

"Where the heck is that girl with my milk?" he complained. "What, did she go out to milk the cow herself?"

Nakuru chuckled. "You're so impatient To-ya," she tapped the tip of his nose with her fingertip, "She probably just got hung up with something."

"Or someone," Tomoyo said in a low tone.

Syaoran glanced at her and she stared back for a second before turning her attention to the movie.

"I'll go check on her and see what's up," Syaoran suddenly announced as he stood up.

"Make sure she doesn't forget my milk!" Toya ordered as Syaoran left the room.

He approached the kitchen to see what was taking Sakura so long but stopped when he heard her voice.

"Satoshi stop it, someone might see us."

"But I can't help myself Sakura, it's so hard to be around you and not touch you."

Syaoran spied around the corner of the kitchen and saw Satoshi with his arms wrapped around Sakura.

"Well you're going to have to contain yourself, especially while we're here," she replied seriously.

"Fine, but please give me another chance."

"Satoshi . . ."

"Please, we can work this out," he insisted.

Sakura was silent for a minute before saying, "I don't know . . . I guess we could date again."

Satoshi tightened his hold on her, "You mean it?! Thank you, you won't be sorry!"

"I said date, not go steady. You have to work your way back up," she added firmly.

"That's fine, I'll start right now," he said with a sly grin right before he swooped down and kissed her directly on the lips.

Syaoran snapped.

He rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the back of Satoshi's shirt, and yanked him away from Sakura roughly.

Satoshi spun around to face his attacker. "What the hell do you think your doing?!" he barked.

"Me?! What about you!?" Syaoran growled fiercely.

Sakura pushed herself between them before things could get violent.

"You guys stop it!"

"He started it," Satoshi snarled.

"Yeah and I'm gonna finish it!"

Syaoran took a threatening step forward but Sakura held him at bay.

"I said that's enough, both of you!"

Sakura gave them each a stony glare before pushing Satoshi to walk out of the room in front of her. Syaoran watched her go feeling slightly guilty. He knew he shouldn't have interrupted them like that, it was Sakura's business . . . but he just couldn't help himself. It made him so angry to see that guy with his hands all over her. Suddenly Sakura reappeared in the kitchen.

"I forgot Toya's milk," she said in reply to Syaoran's questioning stare.

She hurriedly snatched the glass off the counter before leaving again. Syaoran ran a hand through his hair before heading back to join the rest of the family.

**xXxXxXx**

Dinner was ending and Sakura was ready to retire for the night. The sooner she went to bed the sooner this nightmare would be over with. Even though she had neglected to eat anything for breakfast and lunch she still wasn't very hungry. She had only eaten a few bites by the time dinner was done. As Sakura headed for the stairs, she heard Nadeshiko address Satoshi.

"I hope you've enjoyed yourself Satoshi."

"Oh yes ma'am, everything was great," he said with a wide smile.

"I'm glad to hear that. Unfortunately we're out of rooms so I'm afraid you'll have to sleep on the pull out couch in the living room."

"Oh that's okay."

Nadeshiko grabbed Syaoran's arm as he passed by.

"Syaoran, dear, could you please help Satoshi set up the pull out couch in the living room?"

Uh, sure . . ." he said. Of course he'd rather not help but he couldn't very well tell Sakura's mom that.

"Thank you. There are extra sheets and blankets in the hall closet," she replied as she headed back to the kitchen to clean up.

The two started to pull off the couch cushions in silence. Finally Satoshi spoke.

"So I'm sure you heard when you were eavesdropping that Sakura and I are getting back together," he said smugly.

"I'd hardly call letting you take her on some dates 'getting back together,'" Syaoran countered. "She demoted you from boyfriend to a guy she's casually dating which means she can go on dates with other guys at the same time since you two aren't going steady anymore."

Satoshi grimaced as he retrieved the sheets and spare pillows from the linen closet. He hated how Syaoran always seemed to one-up him every time they talked.

"Yeah well we'll see how long that lasts."

"Indeed we will," Syaoran replied as he tucked the last sheet corner in.

Done with the pull out bed, Syaoran headed for the stairs. "Have a good night Satoshi; I know I will since I get to share a bed with Sakura," he said to get in one last verbal blow for the night.

Satoshi fumed in anger as Syaoran disappeared up the stairs. Syaoran opened the door to his room and half smiled at the picture before him. Sakura was curled up on the bed asleep in her clothes.

_She must be exhausted; she's been on edge since Satoshi got here . . ._

Not planning on leaving the cabin for the rest of the evening, he changed into his pajamas. Once he was ready for bed, he picked Sakura up and pulled the covers down before placing her back on the mattress. He slid in next to the slumbering girl and pulled the covers over them. Not ready to sleep quite yet, he grabbed the tv remote and channel surfed for something good to watch. Suddenly he felt Sakura's back snuggling into his chest. He looked down at her and smiled at the content look etched on her sleeping face. Since this was his last night sharing a bed with her he decided he might as well enjoy it. He wrapped his arm around her petite figure and drew her closer to him before settling on a channel. For the next few hours he held Sakura comfortably while he watched the tv. He never felt so content before in his life.

**xXxXxXx**

_**December 26**__**th**__** . . . .**_

Sakura sighed as she packed her things up around the room. Finally, the cabin trip was over and everyone was packing up to leave. The boys were almost done taking down the outside decorations and the girls had already finished packing the inside stuff away. Within the hour, everyone would be on their way home. Sakura was torn. On the one hand she was extremely relived that the trip was over and that she wouldn't have to worry about her parents finding out about her "little" lie. On the other hand, she was sad the trip was over. She'd actually had a pretty decent time this year. She got to see Tomoyo and that was always a plus since they didn't see each other nearly as much anymore since they were enrolled in different colleges. She got to meet Toya's girlfriend Nakuru and Tomoyo's boyfriend Eriol, both of whom she liked, so that was nice too. And the most surprising aspect was the fact that Syaoran ended up to be a pretty good guy. She was actually going to miss him and that's what was making her sad. She didn't think it would be this way. She thought he would begrudgingly spend Christmas there and that, when it was all over with, both of them would go their separate ways gladly, after all, she promised that they would. It was an easy promise to make because she had been completely sure that she'd want it that way too. But now she didn't, she didn't want them to go their separate ways and never meet up again. It had only been five days and yet she had grown rather attached to Syaoran in that short amount of time. She was really going to miss him.

_**An hour later . . . **_

The family was outside the cabin saying their goodbyes. Tomoyo hugged Sakura tightly.

"Well, I guess you did it."

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura replied half-heartedly.

"I'll call you before we head back to school so we can hang out again okay?"

Sakura smiled. "Alright Tomoyo."

She gave Eriol a quick hug. "It was great to finally meet you Eriol."

"The pleasure was all mine Sakura," he replied suavely.

As the coupled headed for Tomoyo's car Nakuru grabbed Sakura in a tight hug.

"Ohhhhhh, I'm going to miss you so much Sakura! It was so much fun getting to know you these past few days!"

"Yeah, I had fun getting to know you too Nakuru," Sakura said as she eased out of Nakuru's death grasp.

Toya walked over and took his girlfriend's hand. "Come on Nakuru, we gotta hit the road, we got a long drive ahead of us."

He razzed Sakura's hair with his free hand. "I'll see-ya later Squirt."

Sakura batted his hand away. "Don't call me Squirt, and give me a proper goodbye."

He rolled his eyes but gave her a big hug.

"That Syaoran . . . he's not such a bad guy," he suddenly whispered in her ear surprising her. He pulled away and flashed her a smile before heading for his car, hand-in-hand with Nakuru.

Nakuru waved extravagantly as she followed after Toya. "Bye Sakura! I hope I get to see you again soon!"

Sakura gave a small wave in return. Before she could move Satoshi approached her.

"So, I'll talk to you soon?"

"Yeah, I'll call you."

He gave her a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before heading for his own car. He shot Syaoran a triumphant smirk as he got in his car and drove off. With her 'goodbyes' finished, Sakura went to collect Syaoran from her parents.

"It was so wonderful to meet you Syaoran. I can't wait to see you again! Thank you so much for coming up here to spend Christmas with us!" Nadeshiko gushed.

"It was my pleasure, really. Thank you for having me," Syaoran glanced at Sakura, "Everything was wonderful."

"You're welcome at our home anytime," Fujitaka informed with a warm smile and a firm hand shake.

Nadeshiko wrapped Syaoran in a tight hug before turning to her daughter.

"You'll be home for the rest of break right?"

Sakura nodded her head. "Yeah, I have to return to campus so I can drop Syaoran off at his car and then I'll be heading home."

"Alright we'll see you tonight then sweetheart. Drive carefully," Fujitaka said.

"We will, come on, Syaoran, let's go."

Nadeshiko hugged him one more time before they could get in Sakura's car. As they drove away, Syaoran watched her parents waving at them until they were out if sight. He had really liked her family, all of them, and he felt a terrible sadness at the notion that he would never see them again.

**xXxXxXx**

"It's this building right here," Syaoran pointed out the window.

Sakura pulled in front of it and stopped. It was Syaoran's on-campus apartment. The drive back had been filled with just as much silence as the drive to the cabin, but this drive seemed shorter as the return drive usually does. The pair just sat there for a second, unsure of what to say. Finally Syaoran spoke.

"Well, mission accomplished."

"Yeah, thanks again Syaoran, you know, for being such a good sport," Sakura said earnestly.

"Nah, I should be thanking you. It ended up being a lot of fun, more fun than Christmas with my own family that's for sure."

Sakura smiled. "I'm glad."

They lapsed into silence again for a few seconds.

"Listen-" they both said simultaneously but stopped and laughed awkwardly.

"Go ahead," Syaoran said.

"No, no, you go."

"Uh, well . . ." Syaoran stalled as he ran a nervous hand through his chestnut locks, "I know we said we'd go our separate ways once this trip was over and all but . . ."

"Yes?" Sakura prodded.

"Well, I was wondering if we could, I don't know, keep in touch and be friends. I mean we spent so much time together and I had fun hanging out with you and-"

Sakura giggled and he stopped rambling.

"Oh I'm so glad you said that."

"Really?"

Sakura giggled again at his surprised look. "Yes of course. I had fun with you too and I'd love to keep in touch. I'm so happy you want that too."

Sakura flipped her cell phone open. "What's your number?"

He rattled it off as she programmed it in her phone. Suddenly his started to vibrate in his pocket.

"There now you have my number too. Don't be a stranger okay?"

He smiled. "I won't."

Sakura leaned over and gave him a hug which he returned fully. Then he got out of the car with his duffle bag.

"Okay well, enjoy the rest of your break Syaoran. Have a safe drive home okay?"

"Thanks, you too. I'll see you around next semester?"

Sakura grinned. "Definitely."

Syaoran stared at her for a second longer before he shut the passenger side door. He gave a small wave as she pulled away to head back to her hometown. He watched her Honda Civic drive away until it was out of sight, then he tossed his stuff into his own sporty car and hit the road in the direction of his own hometown. He had a new mission to complete, and the first step was to break off his engagement to Meilin.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran walked up the front porch of a huge house. He just got back into town and the first place he went was Meilin's. He rang the doorbell and waited patiently for someone to answer. Eventually the door opened to reveal a young maid.

"Ah, master Li, may I help you?"

"Yes I'm here to visit Meilin, is she home?"

"Why yes, come on in, I'll go retrieve her for you."

Syaoran stepped through the doorway as the maid retired up the front staircase. A minute later a girl with long, sleek ebony hair held up in bonbon style pigtails came bounding down the stairs with a smile on her face.

"Syaoran!" she exclaimed when she saw him.

He returned her smile. "Hey Meilin."

She enveloped him in a hug once she reached the base of the staircase.

"I know you said you'd see me today when you got back from your business trip but I didn't know it would be this early," she admitted.

"Oh, sorry."

"No, it's okay. Come on, we can sit in the parlor."

Meilin took Syaoran's arm and led him into the parlor. They sat next to each other on the couch as Meilin spoke.

"So how was your trip?" she asked curiously.

"Uh, well . . ."

He thought about what he was going to say to Meilin during the hour drive from school to her house, but he still wasn't sure what he was going to say exactly. He wanted to tell Meilin the truth, he felt she deserved that much, but he wanted to tell her in the nicest way possible so as to spare her as much hurt as possible. He had yet to think of a good way to do that however.

"Syaoran?"

"What?" he asked as he tuned back into the present.

"Well? How was it?"

"Oh, well . . ." he sighed, there was no way around it. He was just going to have to come right out with it.

"Meilin, I wasn't really on a business trip, I mean my absence was for Li Corp. but it wasn't a regular business trip."

I don't understand," she said with a confused look on her face.

Syaoran took a deep breath and then explained everything, where he had really been and why. When he finished Meilin just stared at him with an expressionless look on her face. When she didn't say anything for a while Syaoran finally spoke.

"Meilin?"

"I . . . I just don't know what to say," she responded dully.

"Well, there's more . . ." he trailed off uncomfortably. This next part was going to be even harder than the last.

She raised her eyebrows. "More?"

He ran a hand through his hair to try and calm his nerves.

It didn't help any.

"Yeah . . ." he leaned over and took Meilin's hand into his own, "Meilin, I know we've been engaged for a long time now and we've really given it a shot but . . . but I . . . I think it's time."

"Time? Time for what?" she asked more confused than ever.

Syaoran looked her straight in the eyes. "Time that we broke off the engagement."

Meilin didn't scream in disagreement like he thought she would so he continued.

"It's been years Meilin and you're a wonderful girl, you really are, you're just . . . not the girl for me. I just feel that if I haven't fallen in love with you yet I'm not going to. Plus that girl I spent Christmas with . . . I can't get her out of my head. I think I might actually love her and it wouldn't be fair to you or I if we stayed engaged," he finished.

He watched Meilin, waiting for her response but she just sat there staring at him. She looked like she was in shock.

"Meilin-"

"Oh thank you!" she finally screamed as she tackled him in a tight hug.

Syaoran had to grab onto her and the sofa to keep them from falling onto the floor from her sudden pounce.

"What?!" That was certainly not the reaction he was expecting to get.

"Thank you for letting me go Syaoran! You don't know what this means to me!!" she cried, tears of joy springing from her ruby eyes.

He pulled back from her so he could see her face. "Now I'm the one who's confused. You're not upset about this?!" he asked incredulously.

Meilin shook her head, her silky locks swaying back and forth.

"But I thought you were in love with me?"

"No, I was in the same predicament as you were. I tried to fall in love with you, God knows I've tried; I've even lied to myself about my feelings. I've tried to force myself into wanting this but I never have," she sighed. "I just didn't have the guts to break it off, so I tried to be enthusiastic about us and I really thought that maybe I would fall in love with you eventually but it just hasn't happened that way. You're just plain old Syaoran to me."

"Gee, thanks a lot Meilin," Syaoran deadpanned.

"No, no, don't get me wrong. You're a great guy Syaoran. You're handsome and smart and well off, most girls would kill to be with you . . . But I've known you since we were little kids. You're practically like a brother to me and I can't see you in a romantic light, just like you can't seem to see me that way."

"So you're totally okay with this then?"

"Yeah, completely," Meilin reassured him. "I'm young and in college, I wanna play the field! There's so many guys out there to date, I know, I hear my roommates talk about it all the time, and I 'd like to get out there and date around, see what kind of guy is really for me," she finished with a smile.

Syaoran wasn't sure what to say, this was not the way he expected it to go but that was a good thing. He thought Meilin was going to be devastated and that was something he really didn't want. This was so much easier and he didn't have to feel like a complete jerk either. It was a win-win situation.

Syaoran cleared his throat. "Uh, okay then, so I guess we're no longer engaged."

"Nope, but we can still be friends right?" Meilin asked hopefully.

Syaoran smiled warmly as he ruffled the top of her head. "Forever. There's nothing I'd like more than that Meilin."

She squealed in delight as she hugged him again.

"Come on, we should probably get our parents together and explain our decision," Syaoran said as he stood up.

"Yeah, you're right. Oh, even though we just broke up, I was wondering if you would still accompany me to the big business party we go to every year on New Years Eve. It's tacky to show up without a date . . ."

Syaoran chuckled as they started to head out of the room.

"Of course," he said as he linked arms with her, "it would be my pleasure to escort you."

_End of chapter 7._

**A/N:** Well there you have it. Sorry for the delays but you all understand I'm sure. I didn't really like how this chapter turned out so sorry if it was disappointing :( It was like pulling teeth to write it and no matter what I did it just didn't seem to flow the way I wanted it to, but the events had to take place and I put off updating long enough. Hopefully the next chapter will be better if you didn't like this one. As far as Meilin goes, hey what can I say? I've always had a soft spot for her and I think she gets the short end of the stick way too often so I decided to make the desire to break the engagement a mutual thing rather than a heartbreaking experience for her. A little change of pace since so many stories (including the original CCS) had it a one-sided love. I think I can wrap this up in one more chapter, but don't hold me to that. Originally this was going to be a short fic, and though it's not a novel by any means, it's getting pretty long so sorry about that to everyone who was under the impression it was going to be short . . . But it is almost over, that much I am sure of. Well that's all. Please remember to review! (I can't believe I reached over 100! Thank you so much everyone you guys are so great!) I'm off to go finish a 20 some page paper for my psyc of women class, yippie . . . See you guys in chapter 8!

_SakuraJade_


	8. From the New Years Ball

**A/N:** Here's chapter 8 everybody! I'm so glad most of you were not only okay with the way things went down between Syaoran and Meilin but were happy about it. And that a lot of you have made positive comments on the pacing HH has had. Thank you so much for all the support you guys have given this story. I am so happy I decided to write it. You're reviews have all been wonderful so thank you, thank you, thank you! Please keep telling me what you think as new chapters are revealed! And thank you for all your concerns about my father as well, you are all very kind.

Disclaimer: "Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Holiday in Handcuffs belongs to ABC Family. I made up Satoshi so I guess he belongs to me but there's not much to him lol"

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

( means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 8: From the New Years Ball to the Hospital_

_**December 31**__**st**__**, New Year's Eve . . . **_

Sakura looked around. There were so many people and they all looked like royalty straight out of a fairytale. Every woman was in a beautiful gown with a man in a tuxedo accompanying her. Sakura was no different. She had on a long, peridot dress that went straight down to the floor hugging her curves as it went. Coupled with her eyes the color was so vibrant it was unreal. It had a scoop neck and long sleeves since it was made to be worn in winter. The sleeves opened a little wider at the wrists to add a bit of elegance. The material was soft and shimmered brilliantly underneath the light of all the chandeliers. Nothing less could be expected of Tomoyo and her flare for the extravagant. Hanging from her delicate neck was the snowflake necklace Syaoran had bought her for Christmas. Since her hair was short, Sakura just curled it under as usual and then strategically placed some pretty rhinestone barrettes in her hair to finish the look. It was simple yet elegant. Sakura felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around and Satoshi handed her a fancy glass.

"Here's your Shirley Temple," he said with a smile.

"Oh, thanks, Satoshi."

She stared at him from the corner of her eye as she sipped her drink. She had to admit that he looked very dashing in a tuxedo and so far he had been quite the gentleman, getting her drinks and whisking her around the dance floor when a song came on that she liked. Much to her own surprise, she was having a pretty good time, just as Tomoyo had promised.

Sakura glanced across the room at her cousin. She was currently talking to a couple of other individuals with her boyfriend Eriol. The pair looked simply regal in their outfits. Tomoyo's long, flowing onyx-colored dress contrasted with her pale skin almost artistically. Her hair was pinned up and cascading down her neck in lushes banana curls. As if to match his date in style, Eriol was sporting tails on his tux jacket. Satoshi noticed who Sakura was staring at and spoke up.

"That was really cool of Tomoyo to invite us to this party. It's pretty upscale."

Sakura forced a smile. Tomoyo hadn't actually invited him. She invited Sakura and told her to bring a date hoping she would bring Syaoran, not Satoshi. At least Sakura realized that when Tomoyo attacked her the minute she walked in the door with questions of why she was here with Satoshi instead of Syaoran. What Tomoyo didn't know, was that Syaoran was her first choice . . .

_**(flashback) **_

_**December 28**__**th**__** . . . **_

Sakura was lying on her bed staring at the pink cell phone in her hand. She flipped it open then flipped it shut and stared at it again. For the last half hour she had been contemplating the idea of calling Syaoran. It had been two days since she'd seen him and she kind of missed him. But it had only been two days, would that be too soon? She didn't want to bug Syaoran or be a burden. But she really wanted to talk to him all of a sudden.

And thus her dilemma.

She flipped her phone open and pressed a few buttons before she flipped it shut again and dropped her head down on the soft bed with a sigh.

_What is wrong with me? I slept in the same bed as Syaoran for six nights so giving him a call shouldn't be a big deal . . . _

Sakura jumped, startled, as her cell phone suddenly started ringing loudly in her hand. She looked at the front panel; it was Tomoyo. She flipped it open and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sakura! How was your trip home?"

"It was fine, you?"

Tomoyo shrugged on the other end of the phone. "Same. So you know how I said we need to hang out before we go back to school?"

"Yeah, what did you have in mind?"

"Well . . ." Tomoyo trailed off.

Sakura didn't like the tone in her cousin's voice.

"I was thinking we could hang out on New Year's Eve."

"That sounds great we could-" Sakura cut herself off mid-sentence.

There was a reason her and Tomoyo never hung out on New Year's Eve.

"Wait a second don't you go to that fancy hotel in downtown Tokyo every New Year's Eve to attend the big New Year's Business Ball because of your mom's company or something?"

"Yeah . . ."

"Well if you're going again this year then how can we hang out?"

"Because . . . you can come too!" Tomoyo shouted excitedly.

"Uh-huh, I don't think so, Tomoyo. That's not really my thing . . ."

"Oh please, Sakura?" she pleaded. "I really want to see you again before we go back to school but my mom's got me helping her, like, everyday! She's trying to train me on how to run a business so I can open my own clothing line once I graduate. Anyway I don't know if we'll have a chance to hang out other wise. Since my mom's corporation is one of the main businesses that sponsor the party I can put you down as a guest of the Daidouji Toy Company."

"Tomoyo . . ." Sakura whined.

"Come on, it's not that bad I promise. It can actually be pretty fun if you bring the right date," she hinted. "Plus it's not like we live far from downtown Tokyo, it's only about a 30 minute drive and how often do you have an excuse to get all prettied up, huh?"

Sakura shook her head. Tomoyo clearly had her mind set on this and wasn't going to let up it seemed. And Sakura didn't have a good excuse to say no either since she didn't have any plans for New Year's Eve anyway.

"Okay, Tomoyo, if it means that much to you, I'll be there."

A squeal exploded into the phone so loud that Sakura had to pull it away from her ear until the abnormally high pitched noise faded.

"Oh I'm so happy! This is going to be so much better with you and Eriol there!"

"Yeah, yeah . . . but what should I wear?"

"Oh don't you worry about that. I'll take care of your entire outfit! The only think you have to do is get a date and make sure he wears a tux."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you in three days then."

"You sure will!"

The cousins hung up and Sakura continued to sit on her bed in silence. After a minute of contemplating she flipped her phone open and quickly pressed a few buttons before she could change her mind. She waited with abated breath for the phone to start ringing.

"Hey this is Syaoran, sorry I can't answer the phone right now, but if you leave a message I'll gladly return your call later."

Sakura heard the beep but said nothing. Instead she quickly hung up the phone feeling stupid. She was actually going to ask him if he'd like to be her date to the New Year's Eve party she was now going to. Of course it'd be as friends but still, she couldn't believe that she almost did that! She knew she missed him but to call him randomly like that and ask him to be her date was crazy. When his phone went straight to voicemail she chickened out and hung up without leaving a message. The fact that his phone went straight to voicemail meant that it wasn't on.

With no message, he'd never know she called.

_**(end flashback)**_

And so here she was with Satoshi. Her first choice might have been Syaoran, but at least Satoshi hadn't been a dud. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what Syaoran would have said if she'd gotten the chance to ask him to accompany her. She also wondered what he was doing tonight while she was here. Suddenly several guests rushed towards the front of the room.

"Jeeze where's the fire?" Sakura asked.

"This happens every time someone really important arrives," Tomoyo said as she and Eriol approached her. "Everyone just has to get a good look."

At the front of the room, farthest away from Sakura and the others, Syaoran escorted Meilin into the magnificent hotel ball room. The pair looked stunning. Meilin had donned sexy Chinese-style silk dress for the occasion. It was crimson in color, with gold flowers littering it and slits on both sides that ran all the way up to the top of her tone thighs. It was a provocative dress to say the least, but Meilin was bold and daring like that. She enjoyed making a statement and her dress selection was a crowd pleaser ever year they came to this party. It seemed this year would be no different. To counter the outgoing dress, she wore her hair in a simple high ponytail with a golden barrette in the shape of a fan placed at the base.

Syaoran rolled his eyes at all the guests crowding around to talk to him and Meilin. Seeing that they were two of the most important people invited every year, he was tired of going through this every time. Meilin gave his hand a squeeze before linking her arm with his. She knew how much Syaoran hated these events and so she was very thankful to him for escorting her yet again this year. She leaned up and whispered in his ear.

"Thanks again for being my date, Syaoran. I know how much you hate these functions."

"Hey don't worry about it, you're worth it, Meilin."

She smiled brightly. She was so happy with the way things were between them now that they were no longer engaged.

"Come on, let's bust through this obnoxious crowd and try to enjoy ourselves," Syaoran suddenly smirked.

Meilin's smile widened as she nodded her head.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran quietly sipped on the whiskey sour he'd ordered from the bar while he waited for Meilin to return from the ladies room. He had tucked himself away in a corner in the hopes of being left alone. It was 11:00, only an hour more and it would be the New Year and he could finally ditch this party. Meilin had already agreed that they could leave after midnight and he was counting the minutes. It actually hadn't been all that bad, but he just wasn't in the mood to talk business tonight and that was the main reason most of the guests came to this party. It was just a fancy atmosphere to wheel and deal in, nothing more. Even though that was the main objective, he and Meilin always tried to just relax and enjoy themselves together. After all, both their parents were around the party somewhere, they could do all the business card exchanging.

Syaoran felt someone tugging on his arm and saw that it was Meilin. She was back from the bathroom.

"Syaoran lets go dance I really like this song!" she exclaimed as she continued to lightly tug him towards the crowd of dancers in the middle of the room.

"Alright just let me finish this real quick," he said as he slammed the rest of his drink in one gulp. He set the empty glass back down on a random table as he led his date towards the floor. They danced to a few orchestrated songs before Meilin suggested a trip to the bar for something to drink. They were a few feet from the bar when Syaoran froze mid-stride, halting Meilin in the process. She looked at him questioningly while other partygoers continued to mill about around them.

"What's the hold up, Syaoran? I'm thirsty."

He didn't respond. He simply stared straight ahead at the bar, more specifically at one of the ladies currently visiting the bar. Meilin tried to follow his eyes in an attempt to see what he was looking at.

"It's her," he suddenly said, complete surprise evident in his voice.

"Who?"

"That girl over there, that's her."

Meilin shot him a funny look. "Yeah, her who?"

He didn't respond and Meilin's face lit up with realization.

"You mean the girl from the Christmas cabin?"

Syaoran nodded dumbly. Meilin took a good look at her.

"She's pretty cute," she finally announced.

"Cute? She's gorgeous," he corrected.

Meilin smirked. "Boy you really do got it bad for her, huh?"

A light blushed crept onto Syaoran's cheeks to confirm Meilin's question.

"So what's she doing at a function like this?"

Syaoran shook his head. "I have no idea."

Meilin suddenly gave him a push forward.

"Well? What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation? Go talk to her!"

"I-" Syaoran stopped short and a scowl made its way to his face.

Meilin looked back at Sakura and saw a young man with wavy, sandy-blonde hair link his arm with hers.

"Ohhhhh, looks like you have some competition."

Syaoran just scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I can't believe Sakura's here with that guy."

An evil glint entered Meilin's eye and she started pulling Syaoran towards them.

"Come on, you're gonna go talk to her. I'll take care of her date."

Before Syaoran could protest they were standing in front of Sakura and Satoshi. They looked as shocked to see him as he was to see them. Syaoran noticed immediately that Sakura was wearing the snowflake pendant he gave her for Christmas. He couldn't help but smile at that.

"Uh . . . hey, Sakura," Syaoran finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Syaoran . . ."

"What are you doing here?" they said simultaneously.

"Tomoyo asked me to come as a guest of the Daidouji Toy Company," Sakura replied first.

Syaoran felt stupid that he didn't think of that sooner. He forgot her aunt was Sonomi Daidouji. They came to this event every year. He never really mingled with Sonomi or Tomoyo at this party but he knew they always came. What an obvious answer.

"I'm here for business," he finally revealed to her.

_That makes sense,_ she thought to herself.

She glanced over at Meilin with a curious look. Meilin noticed and smiled as she gave a slight bow.

"Hi, I'm Meilin."

Sakura mechanically bowed back, her thoughts in a whirl.

_Meilin . . . that's the name of Syaoran's fiancée . . . Oh my gosh, I'm so stupid! I can't believe I almost asked Syaoran to come to this party as my date tonight! How could I forget he has a fiancée? What the hell is wrong with me? I would have looked like such an idiot asking him to be my date when he was already going to be her date tonight! _

Satoshi glanced at Sakura. Seeing that she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts, he cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Satoshi."

Meilin gave him a nod of acknowledgement as she looked him up and down.

"It's nice to meet you . . . You look really familiar, have we met before?"

"You know you look familiar too," he admitted, a quizzical look on his face.

"Well," Syaoran spoke up, "we all do go to the same college. Maybe you guys had a class together."

Meilin snapped her fingers. "That's it! We're you in Hashimoto-sensei's literature class last semester? You know the 100 level one for core?"

"Yeah, I was."

"Me too! What did you think of his class? I thought his paper requirements were ridiculous!"

Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it! God I had to spend hours on each one of them just to hit the minimum page requirement!"

Meilin started to head further down the bar so she could order a drink and Satoshi followed along complaining about the class they'd had. Syaoran watched her go, her hips swinging seductively. She could be quite the Jezebel when she wanted to be, Syaoran had seen that first hand when she flirted her way out of a speeding ticket last year. He knew exactly what she was doing. She had found a common ground between her and Satoshi and now she was distracting him so Syaoran could be alone with Sakura. He had to smile slightly at that. Meilin was definitely a good friend.

"Small world I guess," Sakura finally spoke as she watched the two head down to the other side of the bar and order drinks.

"Sure is. So what did your parents think when they found out you were going out with Satoshi tonight?"

Sakura gave a small laugh. "Actually, they don't know."

Syaoran raised an eye brow.

"They were gone by the time he came to pick me up. My mom and dad went to my Grandfather's house for dinner tonight. My mom hates for him to be alone and stuff on holidays, even one like New Year's Eve. So they make him dinner and then watch movies or play board games with him, He loves scrabble," she moved a stray lock of hair behind her ear and continued," They just assumed you were my date. Eriol was kind of surprised so Tomoyo just explained to him what really happened at the cabin. He got quite a kick out of it. Aunt Sonomi might have been a problem but she couldn't make it at the last second, she had a business emergency, which is why Tomoyo has spent a good portion of the night talking to her mother's clients on her behalf."

"I see. I have to admit I was surprised when I spotted you, I didn't think I'd see you until we got back to school."

"Me either."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon them. Syaoran glanced to the other end of the bar and saw that Meilin still had Satoshi wrapped up in a conversation. She caught him staring at them and gave him a discreet wink and nodded her head towards the dance floor.

"Would you like to go dance?" Syaoran suddenly asked.

"Uh, sure . . ." Sakura said shyly as he gently took hold of her arm and led her out onto the dance floor.

He pulled her close, enjoying the feel of her body against his again. It hadn't been that long since he'd seen her, only four days, but it definitely felt longer. Nothing felt as good as holding Sakura in his arms. He couldn't bare the thought of not getting to hold her like this on a regular basis and he subconsciously tightened his grip on her waist, earning a blush from her.

Sakura had to admit this felt wonderful. Satoshi had been a good date and she had been enjoying herself, but there was just no comparison now. Regardless of how great Satoshi had been all night, she much preferred Syaoran's company . . . and his touch. There was just something about him that made her heartbeat increase exponentially. A prickly sensation ran through her skin at every spot where his body was in contact with hers. It was unexplainable, but Sakura didn't bother to think about it, she simply relished the feeling. Syaoran did the same, nothing else on his mind but the girl in his arms.

Their minds on each other, their bodies continued to sway to the soft music as one. Neither of them had a clue they would end up like this together tonight, but they couldn't have asked for more.

The song came to an end and they stopped dancing. Another one started up but they remained inert, staring into each others eyes. There was a look in Syaoran's amber orbs that Sakura didn't recognize. No one had ever directed that kind of look at her before so she wasn't sure what to make of it, but it seemed special.

Syaoran gently ran his hand down the side of her face. "You look amazing tonight, you know that?"

He enjoyed the light flush on her cheeks that his compliment created.

"Thank you."

He tilted her chin up slightly and his lips started to descend towards hers. Her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. When Satoshi had kissed her in the kitchen at the cabin it was nothing like the kiss she had shared under the mistletoe with Syaoran. At the time, she had pushed away from him out of surprise when he moved to deepen the kiss. But her desire to taste his lips on hers again had flared up significantly after the dance they just shared. Just as his lips lightly brushed hers, the little matching purse that was dangling at her hip started to vibrate. Startled, she pulled away quickly and extracted her pink cell phone.

"Sorry," she said as she looked at her phone.

She had just missed the call. She flipped it open and saw that it had been her mother.

"It was just my mom," Sakura said, an irritated tone in her voice.

She could call her back later. Sakura moved to drop the phone back into her purse when it started vibrating in her hand. It was her mother again. Sakura sighed in frustration but flipped the phone open anyway. If her mom called back-to-back like that maybe it was important. Syaoran watched as Sakura answered the phone. He was pretty annoyed himself. He finally got the chance to reclaim her lips just to be interrupted. It was enough to drive a man nuts! While dancing with Sakura, Syaoran had been doing some thinking and by the time the song was over with he'd made up his mind. He was going to tell her how he felt and ask her to give them a chance. Nadeshiko's phone call ruined the moment but not enough to make him change his mind. He would simply tell her after she got off the phone.

"What?" Sakura suddenly rasped out catching Syaoran's attention.

Her face had gone as white as a sheet and the hand holding her cell to her ear was shaking. The beginnings of tears were starting to collect in her eyes, giving them a glasses appearance.

"I'll meet you guys there!"

She hung up the phone. "I have to find Tomoyo," she choked out.

She took a step and her entire body swayed, over come with dizziness. Syaoran quickly reached out and grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

She latched onto him, desperate for some support as her unshed tears started to stream down her smooth cheeks. Worried, he wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

"Sakura, please, why are you crying? Tell me what's wrong?"

With her face still buried in his warm chest she spoke.

"Grandfather Masaki had a heart attack."

_End chapter 8._

**A/N:** And so goes chapter 8. I know some of you might be mad about the Grandpa Masaki thing, so I'll just say, have I really let you down with this story yet? Also, Kyria hyuuga asked in a review if I could have Meilin help get S&S together so if you are still reading this story Kyria hyuuga I hope you enjoyed her part in this particular chapter :)

_**SakuraJade**_


	9. A Proposal at the Bell Tower?

**A/N:** Hey guys, I know it's been forever, which sucks because I really didn't want to take this long on this story. I really am sorry, but summer got away from me . . . We authors all say "hey it's summer, school's out so I'll have more time to write!" etc. but then we update even less if at all. Sometimes I think we are actually busier during the summer than the school year! I was definitely pretty busy. Of course I was working at Target, I did end up having to put my darling cat Snowball to sleep on May 6th (absolutely broke my heart, but he was old (16 yrs) and sick (ended up having oral cancer) and very likely in pain so I had to do it. I held him even while they gave him the shot, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done but I figured I owed him at least that much. My fiancé did buy me a kitten from a the local shelter for my graduation present to help easy my sadness and it has helped, Calli (short for Calliope) is great, but I still cried for weeks over losing Snowball. I even paid extra to have him cremated and get his ashes back, he meant that much to me), my brother and his girlfriend had their baby, my boyfriend proposed (yeah, we're now engaged hehehe), I had a HUGE graduation party that took months of yard work and stuff to get my backyard in tip-top shape (or as my Target co-workers like to say "Cancun" as it reminds them of paradise lol), and I've had to start the extremely boring task of trying to find a "real job" now that I graduated for good from college (which I'm still doing now, grrrrr). Despite my high credentials, getting a good job right now is rather difficult since the U.S. economy is practically on the verge of the second great depression _sigh_ so I have to spend a lot of time doing job searches. Plus I was having some serious writers block on how to wrap this up but I've finally come up with something so I'm back.

For those interested, my dad is still hanging in there (thank you for all your concerns and well wishes). He seems to be getting better surprisingly, but I don't know that for sure. He's gotten more mobile anyway. He did make it to see another birthday. He turned 59 on Oct. 3rd. It was a hard day for him though since it was his first birthday since his twin brother died . . . The anniversary of his death is coming up at the end of Oct too (as mentioned in the A/N of chapter 6, my cousin's and my Guinea Pig's are also in October. October's just not a good month for my family anymore it seems). But that's that I suppose, point is he's hanging in there. Although the dummy's been sneaking cigarettes even though that's what gave him cancer in the first place. Some people just never learn . . . Anyway enough of my ramblings, on with the final chapter!

_**Chapter Note: **_Most anime fans know what _White Day_ is in Japan, but for those that might not be familiar with it, it is the Valentine's Day equivalent for girls. In Japan, Valentine's Day is for guys. Girls give the guys they like chocolates or some type of sweets and then a month later on March 14th (White Day) the guys give them chocolates in return if they reciprocate their feelings. People give chocolates to others on both holidays out of obligation too (for example, to your boss or some close friends etc.). It's called _girichoco, _or obligatory chocolate. Girls are double lucky because "Girl's Day" is March 3rd and they usually get little gifts from their boyfriends and stuff on that holiday too hahaha.

Disclaimer: "Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Holiday in Handcuffs belongs to ABC Family. I made up Satoshi so I guess he belongs to me but there's not much to him lol"

" means spoken words

_Italics _means thoughts

( means insert A/N, etc.

**Holiday Hoax**

_Chapter 9: A Proposal at the Bell Tower?_

Sakura felt ready to vomit, the news about her Grandfather made her feel physically ill. Syaoran still had his arms around her in an attempt to support her, but he wasn't doing so hot himself. He had only just met Masaki a week ago and yet he almost felt as if it was his own Grandfather who had a heart attack. He had felt a connection of sorts with the man; he liked him and felt genuinely liked in return. Truth be told, he felt that way about Sakura's whole family. Well, the feeling wasn't as strong with Toya, but it was still there a little . . .

Sakura suddenly pushed away from Syaoran almost violently. She didn't have time to waste here, she had to find her cousin and get to the hospital.

"I have to find Tomoyo," she cried out in urgency.

She began to push through the horde of people in her way. Syaoran followed closely behind her. Neither said a word as they searched for the fair-haired beauty related to Sakura. Upon finally finding her mingling with another group of her mother's clients, Sakura flung herself into Tomoyo's arms, crying hysterically.

"Sakura, what on Earth?!" Tomoyo squeaked in shock.

"We have to go to Tokyo General now! Grandpa Masaki had a heart attack!"

Tomoyo's dainty hands flew to her mouth, trembling at the unfortunate news.

"I have to call mother and find Eriol." She turned to her current company with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, we'll have to finish this conversation another time."

Sakura couldn't help but admire her cousin's ability to remain calm and professional in the face of such disheartening news. Without another word, Tomoyo hurried away in search of her boyfriend, her dress flaring out behind her in her haste. Sakura tried to follow after her, but quickly lost her in the crowd of party goers. She let out a cry of frustration.

"Great I lost Tomoyo and I have no idea where Satoshi is! I have to get to the hospital!"

Syaoran, who managed to keep up with her, laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you to the hospital; we can meet Tomoyo and Eriol there. Come on."

He started to lead her towards the door.

"But what about Meilin?! You can't just leave her here!"

"Don't worry about Meilin; she's more than capable of taking care of herself. She can always call her chauffer. I'll explain it to her later, she'll understand. Now let's go."

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura and Syaoran zoomed into the parking lot at Tokyo General. The trip had been a short one, especially with Syaoran's hasty driving. Still, the trip felt agonizingly long to Sakura. It probably didn't help that it was filled with silence. Silence always seemed to make a trip feel longer than it really was. As soon as Syaoran had the car in park Sakura was out and racing for the doors. Syaoran stashed his keys in his pocket and dashed after her. The two college students were the targets of some scrutinizing stares due to the formal attire they were tearing down the hallway in, but they took no note of it. They stopped at the front desk to check in.

"I'm here to see Amamiya Masaki, I'm his great granddaughter, Kinomoto Sakura," she huffed out.

The orderly behind the desk handed her a pass before turning to Syaoran.

"And what is your relation to the patient?"

"Uh . . ."

"He's with me, he's my boyfriend. Now please direct me to my Grandfather!"

Syaoran couldn't help but smile at the title Sakura had used for him. She said it with such assurance and finality. It sounded so right to hear her call him her boyfriend.

The lady handed Syaoran a pass as well and said, "Third floor, operating room 360, west wing."

Sakura thanked her and the pair sprinted for the elevators. Upon reaching the waiting room, Sakura saw her parents huddled together in the corner holding hands. Nadeshiko was clearly crying while Fujitaka did his best to sooth his beloved wife. Toya sat next to them staring into space quietly. The tv was on, airing the New Year's celebrations taking place around Japan but no one was watching, their minds occupied by far greater things.

"Mom, Dad!"

They looked up to see her and Syaoran heading towards them. Nadeshiko broke away from her husband and embraced her distraught daughter.

"Where's Grandpa?! How's he doing?!" Sakura asked immediately.

"They're working on him right now. That's all we know," Nadeshiko glanced around, "Where's Tomoyo?"

"She had to find Eriol and she'll be on her way."

Nothing left to say, the small group sat down to endure the painful task of waiting. Sakura was too nervous to sit still. She continued to fidget in her seat. Syaoran suddenly took her hand in his in an attempt to sooth her frayed nerves. She glanced up at him, surprised by the sudden, albeit not unwanted, contact. He smiled reassuringly and gave her hand a supportive squeeze. Before Sakura could say anything, her eyes snapped forward to find the source of the sudden clacking noise she was hearing. Tomoyo and Eriol were barreling down the hallway hand-in-hand. The clacking noise was the sound of Tomoyo's high heels slapping the linoleum tiled floor. Sakura absentmindedly made a mental note that she had never seen Tomoyo move so fast before. Not being very athletically inclined, Tomoyo had to stop to catch her breath once they reached the rest of the family before she could get any words out. Once she was no longer winded, she addressed Nadeshiko, but not before raising a questioning eyebrow at Sakura's and Syaoran's joined hands. Sakura had the grace to blush and look down at the floor, but she continued to clasp Syaoran's hand firmly.

"It took me a few tries but I was able to get a hold of Mom. She's on her way right now, she should be here shortly," Tomoyo informed.

Nadeshiko let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't been able to reach Sonomi yet and she knew there was no where else her favorite cousin would rather be then here with the rest of the family.

"What happened?" Tomoyo finally asked.

"We were over at Masaki's house keeping him company like we do every New Year's Eve," Fujitaka started, "And during a game of scrabble he got really excited over some of the tiles he picked up and then he suddenly fell off his chair clutching his heart. He said he thought he was having a heart attack and then he passed out."

"So now what?" Tomoyo cried, wiping her eyes.

"Now," Toya spoke up from his seat gruffly, trying to mask his own sadness, "We wait and hope for the best. It's all we can do."

**xXxXxXx**

A harrowing half an hour later the doctors emerged from Masaki's room. Nadeshiko and Sonomi, who had arrived 15 minutes earlier, swarmed them immediately.

"Doctor please, how's our Grandfather doing?" Nadeshiko asked, eyes pleading for good news.

The doctor adjusted his glasses before announcing, "We've done all we can do, the rest is up to him. The next twenty-four hours will be critical. We are moving him to a recovery room now. He will be down the hall in room 341 if you want to head over there. You can visit him but keep it short because he needs his rest. And only two or three people at a time." The doctor tried to smile reassuringly. "For what it's worth, he seems to be on his way to a good recovery. He's a tough one; I personally believe he'll pull through."

The two cousins hugged in relief and thanked the doctor before he went on his way. Nadeshiko explained Masaki's condition to Sakura, Syaoran, and Toya. Tomoyo and Eriol had gone down to the cafeteria for something to drink minutes before the doctors came out.

Once Nadeshiko finished Sakura said, "Go on Mom, we'll wait here and bring Tomoyo and Eriol to the new room when they get back."

Nadeshiko, Fujitaka, and Sonomi all headed for the new room. Shortly after they disappeared down the hall, Toya stretched and got up.

"I'm going to go use the washroom and call Nakuru to update her on Granddad's status."

Sakura watched her big brother's figure as he headed for the restrooms. She could tell from his body language that he was a little less tense now. Feeling a little of her own stress slip away, she gave a small sigh and slouched down in her chair. Syaoran eyed her hunched form for a minute.

Finally he asked, "Sakura, are you okay?"

She sat up and turned slightly in her chair at the sound of his voice.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, I'm still somewhat nervous, Grandpa Masaki isn't out of the woods yet, but at least he has a chance and a good one from the sound of it." An apologetic look entered her eyes. "I'm really sorry about tonight, Syaoran, about you having to leave the party to drive me to the hospital."

"No don't be. This isn't your fault, unfortunate things like this happen sometimes. And I go to that party ever year. It's always the same, a bunch of stuffy business people schmoozing and rubbing elbows. I only go because I'm obligated as a member of the Li family." Syaoran's face colored as he added, "Besides, there's no where else I'd rather be right now then here with you. I definitely didn't plan on seeing you tonight; that was a total surprise, but a good one . . ."

A small smile managed to spread over Sakura's glossy lips at his statement. "Really? You were glad to see me?"

The red of his cheeks darkened another shade. "Yeah . . ."

Suddenly there was a loud count down on the waiting room tv that had been left on. The New Year was fast approaching. Sakura and Syaoran turned to watch as the count down reached zero and the patrons of the current party being shown jumped around wildly shouting happy New Year and kissing.

They turned back to each other and stared for a moment before Sakura said, "Well, in the spirit of things . . ."

She quickly leaned in and pecked Syaoran on the lips for a New Years kiss. Just as she pulled back Syaoran caught her face in his hands and slowly pulled her lips back onto his. He took delight in the fact that Sakura didn't seem put-off by the idea, in fact she seemed to want it just as bad as he did, which simply encouraged him more to continue deepening their kiss. When she parted her lips to grant his searching tongue access his hands slid up and lost themselves in her soft, choppy hair while her arms wrapped around his neck comfortably.

"You son of a bitch!"

The angry shout broke the moment, startling the pair out of their intense lip lock. They looked across the room to see Satoshi standing their, seething with anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he cried, his nostrils flaring.

It took Sakura a second to find her voice. "Satoshi what-how did you know I was here?"

He shifted his gaze to her. "It's all over the party! How Tomoyo had to leave early because her Grandfather was hospitalized! I looked all over for you and when I couldn't find you I figured you had come to the hospital with Tomoyo but not this jerk!"

Syaoran ignored his comment and asked, "Where's Meilin?"

"How the hell should I know?! Shortly after we went to get a drink, she ran off with some guy she called Tai and I haven't seen her since."

Syaoran was glad to hear that. He knew Meilin was doing him a favor by distracting Satoshi from Sakura, but he didn't want her to waste her whole evening with him. Plus he had a feeling he knew who the guy Satoshi spoke of was. If it was Tai Nagaoka then Meilin was in good hands, the guy had been in love with her for years and he was known for being quite the gentlemen. The only thing that had stopped him from making a move was her engagement to him.

"I can't believe you, Sakura!" Satoshi went on, not bothering to keep his voice down despite being in a hospital at midnight, "How could you leave me there and go off with him?!"

"I tried to find you," she argued back, "but I couldn't and I didn't have time to waste!"

"And then you start making out with this chump!"

There was a tiny, feminine gasp from behind Satoshi but no one really took notice of it. Tomoyo and Eriol had just returned from the cafeteria and heard Satoshi's statement. Not wanting to intrude, the couple said nothing and tried to blend into the background, although Tomoyo was listening with vapid interest.

"Satoshi this isn't the time or the place to talk about this!"

He ground his teeth together in anger. "But it's the time and place to make out with someone!?"

"Stop it!"

Satoshi took a menacing step forward but Syaoran walked towards him, cutting him off from Sakura.

"You heard her; it's time for you to go. You'll have to talk to her about this later."

"Don't order me around asshole," Satoshi growled before shoving Syaoran back a few paces. "I'm not about to lose to someone like you!"

Syaoran sent him an icy glare and moved forward again. "Too late, it looks like you already did," he replied cockily.

Before anyone could move Satoshi swung his left fist and sucker punched Syaoran in the jaw, eliciting a surprised scream from Sakura. Syaoran's head swung back but he recovered quickly and clobbered Satoshi with a right hook of his own. Satoshi rammed into Syaoran and the two broke out into a serious brawl, over turning chairs and tables in the process, all the while ignoring Sakura's pleas for them to stop. Eriol grabbed Tomoyo and pulled her a safe distance away where they watched the fight unravel before their eyes. Finally two security guards came in and broke up the rumble, although if it was because they could hear it at their station or because someone reported the noise, no one was sure. Syaoran had a smatter of blood leaking from his nose and the bow and collar of his tuxedo was torn while Satoshi had a busted lip to match the ripped up cuff of his left sleeve.

As the guards pulled the boys apart Sakura cried, "I can't believe you two! My Grandfather is around the corner in critical condition and you two are gonna fight over who's the better man, over who won me and who lost!?" tears began to wind their way down Sakura's flushed cheeks, "Did you hear me?! My Grandpa might die tonight! How dare you two fight over your own pride at a time like this!! This isn't a game! Get out!"

"But Sakura-" Satoshi began.

"Sakura please-" Syaoran tried.

"Out, both of you! I don't want to see or speak to either of you!"

"You heard the lady," the guard holding Syaoran said, "let's go. You two are out of here."

The two young men were escorted out without another word. Satoshi's eyes were burning with rage while Syaoran's were brimming with guilt and remorse.

He screwed up big time, and he knew it.

**xXxXxXx**

The days went by and, try as he might, Syaoran could not get a hold of Sakura. He called her phone daily and never received an answer. He left many messages but a return call was never made. Once school was back in session he hoped that he would run into Sakura around campus like he did that fateful day in December that started this whole thing. But with 21,000 students and two miles worth of campus, he was starting to believe that wasn't going to happen. Aside from calling Sakura, Syaoran had been calling the hospital in Tokyo that Masaki had been at regularly to check up on him. Despite his sudden falling out with Sakura he still did care for the elderly man's health. Syaoran was happy to hear later that week that Masaki did indeed recover from his heart attack and had been released from the hospital. It was the only thing he had to be happy about.

Sakura was livid with both Satoshi and Syaoran. Satoshi had tried to get in touch with her for a week after the incident before giving up. Syaoran, however, wasn't as easily deterred. He continued to call weeks after the hospital incident and he was much harder to ignore than Satoshi. She was still furious with Syaoran but at the same time she missed him. Every time he called it got harder to ignore him . . .

**xXxXxXx**

_**March 13**__**th**__** . . .**_

Sakura was lying on her bed staring at the quickly darkening ceiling. Today she had decided that she would answer Syaoran's phone call if he called. After all, it had been over two months since New Year's Eve and he was still calling her. The calls were fewer and farther between but he was still trying to get back in touch with her so she figured she owed him that much.

_Now if he'd just call . . . _

Just as she thought that her pink flip phone started to vibrate in her pocket. She sprung up and answered it immediately, assuming it was Syaoran.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sakura, it's Takashi."

The mixture of nervousness and excitement immediately left upon hearing the voice on the other end. It was her roommate Chiharu's boyfriend.

"Uh, hello?"

"Oh, hey Takashi," Sakura finally replied, not being able to hide some of the disappointment that laced her voice. "If you're trying to reach Chiharu she's not here."

"No, actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"Okay sure, what do you need?"

"Could you meet me under the bell tower in the middle of campus?"

"Um, alright when?" Sakura asked, slightly puzzled by his request.

"In the next 15 minutes."

Sakura agreed and left her apartment as soon as they hung up since it would take her that long to walk there from her campus apartment. The bell tower Takashi spoke of was on a big island in the middle of the main street that ran down campus commonly known as "the strip." One lane ran on each side of the tower island in only one direction. The island was paved with bricks, and flower beds surrounded the tower which was made up of the same bricks. Pedestrians could walk under the tower from any direction as it was open on all four ends. At night, iridescent lights lit the whole thing up. It was an infamous spot on campus, most notorious for the kissing legend. It was rumored that kissing under the tower was good luck for a relationship, double the luck if a couple kissed while the bells were ringing.

As Sakura approached the bell tower, her hands stuck in her pockets, she saw Takashi already standing under it leaning against one of the thick, brick legs patiently.

"I'm here," she called out to alert him to her presence. "So what did you need to see me for?"

"Well," he began, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "I'm sure you know that tomorrow is White Day."

"What girl doesn't?"

"And I've decided what to get Chiharu."

Sakura's head tilted to the side in curiosity. "You mean you aren't gonna just give her chocolates as usual?"

Takashi shook his head. "Nope."

"Then what are you giving her?"

Hei held up an index figure matter-of-factly as he said, "This particular gift is rather special so everything has to be perfect and since you are one of Chiharu's closest friends I wanted to see what you think of it first, and not just the gift but the location too."

"Uh, okay . . ." Sakura responded, more confused than before.

Takashi took a deep breath before emulating his whole plan in front of Sakura. He got down on one knee, took out a velvet box, and opened it, revealing a sparkling diamond ring set in a white gold band.

Sakura stared at the beautiful trinket dumbfounded before squealing in delight and jumping up and down, hugging Takashi all the while.

**xXxXxXx**

Syaoran was riding on a campus shuttle bus, on his way home from an evening class. He had decided that yesterday would be the last day he would call Sakura. As much as he wanted to talk to her, she clearly was not interested and he had to accept that, no matter how much it pained him to do so. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to steady himself on the moving vehicle. The shuttle ran the whole length of campus in a loop and was always packed at night, so it was usually standing room only by the time Syaoran got on. He watched the campus buildings careen by absentmindedly through the windows. As the shuttle rounded the island that the fabled bell tower stood tall on, he saw a scene that made his blood run cold. There, under the bell tower stood Sakura with another man on one knee. Right before the bell tower passed out of view, Syaoran saw Sakura jump up and down ecstatically and hug the man she was with.

_No, that's impossible! There's no way that Sakura could be getting . . . married?_

Driven by the sheer need to know the truth and his desire to see Sakura again, Syaoran pushed to the front of the shuttle roughly, forgetting his decision to let her go. The next stop was only a few yards down the street from the bell tower and he was determined to get off there and rush over before Sakura and the mystery man accompanying her could take off.

**xXxXxXx**

Sakura continued to crush Takashi in a hug as she said, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! You're going to propose to Chiharu!"

"So you think it's good then? My proposal I mean. I want it to be memorable," Takashi said, his cheeks a little red from embarrassment. "Chiharu's a great girl, she deserves it."

Sakura finally let the boy go and clasped her hands together near her bosom. "Oh Takashi I think it's wonderful. You're gonna sweep Chiharu off her feet! It's so romantic, "she finished with a wistful sigh. "And the ring is beautiful."

"You think so? I don't have a ton of money to throw around right now being a full time college student and all, but I've been saving up for 2 years now so I could get her something worth looking at," Takashi smiled with pride.

"Well it definitely shows it's lovely. When do you plan on actually tying the knot?"

"Not until after we graduate, I mean we have enough on our plate with school and stuff, but sometime shortly after that would be nice. Of course Chiharu has a say in it too. It will be a semi long engagement since we don't graduate for another year but I figured, since we've been dating since high school and everyone knows we're gonna get married eventually, that we might as well take it to the next step and become affianced," he finished with his eyes closed and a cheeky smile on his face.

Not able to contain the happiness she felt for her friend, she leaned over and hugged him again.

"I am so happy for you Taka-"

"I don't believe this!"

Sakura stiffened in Takashi's arms at the sound of that voice. It was familiar, it was-

"Syaoran!" she said in surprise as she broke away from Chiharu's soon-to-be fiancé.

Syaoran was running towards them, a green backpack slung over one shoulder.

Takashi looked on curiously. "You mean that guy from Christmas break?"

Sakura's eye brows arched at his sentence. "How did you know about him?"

He shrugged indifferently. "You told Chiharu and she told me, duh."

She turned back to Syaoran just as he reached them.

"Syaoran, what-" she started but he didn't let her finish.

"Sakura, how could you be getting engaged?! You've only been single since Christmas! Who is this loser anyway?!"

"Uh . . ." was all Takashi had to say in return. He was a lover not a fighter and this was clearly a misunderstanding anyway.

"Syaoran stop it, you're making a fool of yourself!" Sakura argued.

"You should listen to her," Takashi added.

Syaoran sent him a nasty glare. "You stay out of this!"

"Okay then," Takashi said and proceeded to take a step back. This guy was clearly upset.

"Sakura you can't have known this guy for long, how can you know already that you want to marry him?!" Syaoran demanded. In the heat of the moment he couldn't help but ask, "And what about us?!"

"Syaoran there is no us!" Sakura shouted back caught up in the argument.

"Well what if I want there to be!?"

Everything fell silent underneath the bell tower at Syaoran's declaration and he tore his eyes away from Sakura. The only sounds to be heard were those of the traffic passing by on both sides, and Syaoran's labored breathing from the run over. Neither knew what to say next. Sakura wasn't sure what to think of the bold statement he just made. She was definitely surprised, and kind of confused. But she was also elated . . .

"Syaoran . . ." she finally whispered softly.

He finally worked up the courage to look her in the eye. "Look, I miss seeing you okay? And I hate that we haven't talked in two months. And . . . well, I can't stand the thought of you marrying this random guy."

Sakura let out a small sigh. "Syaoran, I'm not marrying Takashi."

"You aren't?"

She shook her head. "No, he's my roommate and friend Chiharu's boyfriend. He wants to propose to her tomorrow for White Day and he wanted my opinion of his proposal, that's all."

"I got a couple of picture of Chiharu in my wallet if ya need more proof," Takashi threw in.

"Oh, well now I feel kind of stupid," Syaoran said lamely, a blush burning his face from embarrassment.

"Yeah I probably would too if I were you," Sakura said lightly.

Syaoran turned towards the other guy apologetically. "Hey man I'm sorry for yelling at you, and for the loser comment."

Takashi put his hands up. "Nah don't worry about it, no hard feelings," he re-directed his gaze at Sakura, "I'm gonna head out of here and leave you two to talk. Thanks for your help, Sakura. I'll see ya later."

Sakura gave a small wave as Takashi left the sanctity of the bell tower and crossed the street to head home. She turned back to look at Syaoran but he was staring at his shoes intently.

"In case you were wondering, Grandfather Masaki is doing well," she finally said, in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

Syaoran looked up at that and smiled. "Is he? I'm glad to hear that. I knew he was released from the hospital but I had no way of knowing how he's been doing since."

"Oh?"

Syaoran gave a small nod. "Yeah I called the hospital periodically to see if he had been released or not back in January."

Sakura felt his words tug at her heart strings. _He really is a decent guy, isn't he?_

"That was, a, nice of you."

"I'm really sorry about fighting with Satoshi in the hospital, really sorry," Syaoran whispered.

"I know you are." Sakura cleared her throat and got back to the point. "Look, Syaoran, about you and me . . . that was just a farce, you know, pretend."

"Yeah well my feelings for you now aren't," he let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line, I wasn't pretending to love you anymore," he looked her directly in the eyes, searching for the answer he desperately wanted, "and I think at some point you stopped pretending too."

Sakura blushed slightly at the seriousness of his conviction. Then she shook the blush away as quickly as it had appeared. "Maybe you're right, but that doesn't change anything. You're already engaged to someone else."

Syaoran looked at her, puzzlement filtering across his face. "What Meilin?" At Sakura's nod he smiled. "I broke off our engagement at the end of December."

Sakura blinked. "What??"

"Yeah. She took it pretty well too. In fact, she's been dating Tai Nagaoka since the New Year's Ball we were all at. She seems pretty happy now and I'm glad," Syaoran sent a serious look at her, "But now I wanna know about our happiness."

He took two steps to close the distance between them and gently took hold of her shoulders.

"If you really don't want to be with me then tell me."

Sakura said nothing, so Syaoran gave her one last chance.

"Just say it, Sakura, and I'll leave you alone for good."

Again she said nothing nor did she try to push him away. Syaoran smiled softly at Sakura's silence and swiftly leaned down to kiss her.

When he pulled away Sakura couldn't stop the grin that spread across her own face as she said, "You really want to be with me, Syaoran?"

"Yeah, I do. I love you," he said in a husky voice, his eyes conveying the truth behind his words. The look in his eyes was identical to the one they held after the dance they shared on New Year's Eve. Sakura finally understood what that look was: one of adoration and deep, intense, true love.

"I love you too."

Syaoran held Sakura tighter and proceeded to kiss her again passionately. Above their heads the giant bells began to chime as they kissed, blessing their new relationship with the luck of a campus legend that had managed to transcend time.

_**The End.  
**_

**A/N: **Well everybody, there you have it, the official end to Holiday Hoax. Once again I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this but I hope it lived up to your expectations. I'm not completely happy with it but I'm happy enough lol Thank you so much for all your support and reviews (**NileyLover**, if you are still reading this I hope you were happy about Meilin ending up with a guy named Tai as you had requested in a previous review. I couldn't really work them in, but I did put her with a Tai per your request lol), you guys are the best! If you could spare a few minutes, please review one more time and let me know what you thought of the chapter or the story as a whole or both. I'd love to hear from you all one more time and it'd be great to reach over 200 reviews too lol. I pretty much swiped the bell tower design and such from my very own campus along with the legend. My fiancé and I kiss under it every time we walk pass it together, although we've never managed to catch it when it's ringing (we have come close though!) lol In fact, he pinned me with his fraternity's sweetheart pin underneath Ball State's bell tower on Valentine's Day a couple of years ago _sigh _ So cute! Hanyan!! lol

For anyone interested, though I don't have any sequels planned for this story, I have been contemplating a prequel showing how Toya and Nakuru got together. I really like those two together, I just think they are so cute and there aren't nearly enough fanfics out there about them, especially multi-chapter fics . . . So I was thinking of trying my hand at it. If I do write this fic it won't be for a while since I have others floating around in my mind to write first but I thought I'd let those who might be interested know. Although reviews requesting it would definitely help encourage me to do it! Lol

Well that's enough out of me, sorry about the super long author's notes, but I always feel compelled to explain my absence to my readers, you guys deserve to know what was up if you are interested. Thanks for reading and thanks for review! Maybe I'll see some of you again in future fics or at your own! :)

_**SakuraJade**_


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